Picking up the Pieces
by akaJB
Summary: As Claire tries to keep the park running and deal with the fallout from the Indoraptors, she gets a phone call from Eli Mills informing her that Sir Benjamin Lockwood would like to meet. At the same time, Owen is left dealing with his moody raptors and is facing some new decisions that will affect both his work and his relationship with Claire. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

_November was crazy as I plowed head first into this story, but the time for the sequel has arrived! _

_If you've landed here and have **not** read Illusion of Control, I do recommend reading it first, although you should still be able to follow the story. If you want to just start with this story, all you really need to know is that Simon and Hoskins are still alive, the Indoraptors and Indominus are all dead, and the guests never saw what happened, so the park is still functioning. And Claire and Owen are finally together — it took them a while in IC. :) _

_If you did / have read IC, yes, the first scene of this chapter (**not** the whole chapter, just the start) is the epilogue of IC, so you can scroll partway down if you want. But **don't** skip this chapter, it starts the whole setup... _

**Chapter 1**

Driving towards the raptor paddock, her hands clutching tightly to the steering wheel, Claire tried to get her emotions under control. She knew it wouldn't be good to show up already furious (even if she was). If they were going to be able to deal with this, if they were going to actually be able to have a real relationship, they needed to be able to talk.

And, more importantly, they needed to stop making assumptions about each other. She knew that. She knew Owen did, too. They'd had more than one conversation on that very topic over the past couple of months. But, being aware of that, _knowing_ that, didn't mean it was easy to change.

In some ways, deciding to _actually_ be together, to honestly, truly, be together, was the easiest decision she'd ever made. And actually doing so, had been surprisingly easy. It almost felt like they were just fake dating again. They met for meals and hung out at each other's places. He'd play on his Xbox while she worked on reports. They'd watch movies, although now curled up together, instead of simply sitting side-by-side. And they continued to share a bed (although _that part_ had definitely changed, and for the better).

She had expected things to be harder, now that they knew what the other wanted. That the easy camaraderie they'd had back when they were fake dating wouldn't be so easy now that there were "real feelings" involved. She'd even made a comment about that to Owen, who'd laughed and said: "There were always real feelings involved."

In other ways, being together was the hardest choice she'd ever made. Sure, Karen, her nephews, Lowery and Zara all seemed happy for her. (Too happy, really, in Claire's opinion.) But it felt like she was back under constant surveillance. Like every move she made, every interaction she had with Owen, was being judged and dissected. Before, when they were fake dating, they were putting on a show, and it felt easier to ignore the rumours. But this time, probably because everyone loved gossip and drama, them getting "back" together seemed to cause a spike in interest.

Claire kept waiting for everyone to get bored, to decide they really weren't worth the attention. So far, it hadn't happened, and instead she'd been overhearing people debating when Owen was going to propose and if they'd also get married on the island like Zara had. She really hoped Owen wasn't hearing those rumours and that he wasn't about to do so — they'd barely been _really_ together for a couple of months. She wasn't ready.

Not only had it been barely over two months, but, dammit, they clearly hadn't fixed the open communication part, or she wouldn't be slamming on her brakes as she pulled into the raptors paddock, her anger surging again. Why hadn't he _said_ something? Didn't he think this was something they should talk through together? Or was he not as committed as she was? They'd never actually talked about that, had never labelled what they were now.

Slamming the door to her car as she got out, Claire berated herself for clearly _not_ having managed to calm down. She forced herself to take a couple of deep breaths before sweeping her gaze over the paddock. Where was he?

The sound of boots on the metal stairs caught her attention and she turned, raising her hand to her forehead, squinting against the glare of the sun, confirming that yep, that was Owen on his way down. She couldn't make out his expression, the sun too bright behind him, but she started her way across the yard towards him.

"Hey," Owen greeted her with a bright smile on his face. "What brings you out here?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," she hissed, and she watched as his smile faltered. "Did you think I wasn't going to find out? Were you just going to move off island and never tell me?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Owen held up his hands, his smile gone. "Back up there, Claire. Calm down."

"Calm down?" Claire said, her voice getting louder. "You want me to calm down? You're just going to up and leave and you want me to–"

"I'm not going anywhere," Owen replied, grabbing her by the arms, startling her. He was looking at her intently, waiting for her to meet his gaze. She did so, reluctantly. "I'm not. I swear," he repeated.

"But Hoskins was just–"

"Shit, Claire. You're listening to Hoskins?" Owen groaned, a hand raising to scrub at his jaw. He looked around them, and Claire followed his gaze, seeing a few of the paddock workers had paused in their work and were watching their interaction curiously. She immediately flushed, wondering how much they'd overheard. "I'm not moving," Owen repeated. "Hoskins has started pushing hard for the raptors to get moved to Sorna again. I'm kind of surprised he's waited this long."

"Sorna?" Claire asked, her brow furrowed, her anger falling away. She was starting to feel sheepish at her reaction, but she didn't get why Owen hadn't reached out to her. "For the field test? I thought that was canceled."

"It is," Owen nodded. "At least, it _was_. With Delta's death, and with Charlie's injury, the raptors aren't in shape to do what we had originally planned. But…" He shrugged, looking over his shoulder at the paddock behind him, and Claire could feel the tension and stress rising in him when he turned back to her.

"But what?" It was Claire's turn to reach for him, resting her hand on his arm.

"They're not happy. They're moody all the time. They're snapping at each other. At me. At Barry. I don't know what to do." He raised a hand, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let out a deep sigh. "Maybe they'd be happier on Sorna. Somewhere different, without the memories. With more space."

"He wouldn't be moving them just so they could run around more freely," Claire said, her eyes narrowing. "He's got to have a bigger endgame at play."

"Yeah," Owen nodded. "I wish I knew what it was." He took a deep breath before moving closer to her and wrapping his arms loosely around her. Claire fought her instinct to pull away, trying not to think of all the dirt he was transferring to her clothes. "I don't want to think about that. Not now. Can we start over?" He lowered his head until his forehead was resting against hers, his voice dropping. "Hi."

"Hey," Claire said back, letting her own shoulders relax, before she pushed up onto her toes so she could kiss him hello. Screw her clothes, she could stop off at home after.

It wasn't long before they pulled back, they _were_ standing outside at Owen's work, after all. And even if everyone knew about them, Claire didn't like being too obvious in public. It felt like she was just fueling the rumours.

"You know," Owen said, a mischievous grin appearing, along with a twinkle of humour in his eyes. "Maybe we _should_ be talking about me moving."

"You _want_ to go to Sorna?" Claire tried hard to keep her tone level, to not let the immediate dread she felt flooding the pit of her stomach show.

"Not Sorna," Owen shook his head. "I was thinking more about right here."

"Right here…" Claire repeated him slowly, not 100% sure she was following his thoughts.

"Yeah," Owen said. "Maybe you could free up another drawer, give me a few inches of space in the closet."

"Are you sure it's not too soon?" The words were out of her mouth before she had even fully thought them, and by the falter in his grin, Claire wondered if maybe it was actually _her_ who was holding back, and not him.

"We were almost living together before," Owen shrugged, his gaze darting away from hers. He paused, and then cleared his throat. "I mean… only if you want to. We–"

"You won't miss your place?" she interrupted him. "I don't want to take that away from you."

"I was thinking we could keep both," he admitted. "I know your place is better located for your work, but maybe we can spend weekends, or the odd night out at my place. Sort of like a… like having a cabin."

"I do love your hammock," Claire said, a thoughtful look on her face. "You're okay with being at my place more? The noise? Being more in the 'action'?"

"The benefits more than outweigh the drawbacks," he replied. "Room service. Your TV. Your shower. Your _bed_."

"Oh, I see how it is, you just want me for my place," she joked.

"You have to admit that you come with some great perks," he laughed with her, before his tone turned serious. "I don't care where we live. I just want to start and end my days with you."

Claire wasn't sure how to respond to that, and instead just reached up to kiss him again. She was feeling guilty for having arrived out there ready to yell at him and in return he was telling her he wanted more.

"You know," Owen said, grinning at her as he pulled away, "You actually came at a really good time."

"Oh?" she asked, a little concerned about his glee. He slipped his arm around her waist, directing her towards the holding pen.

"We were just getting the raptors into their harnesses for a checkup," he said, keying in the code to open the gate. Before Claire had a chance to realize what he was doing, he'd pulled her into the holding pen with him. "You've been avoiding meeting them," he noted and she froze just inside the gate. Owen started to take a couple of steps before he seemed to realize that she wasn't beside him, as his arm slid out from behind her. He quickly snagged her hand, tugging her forward. "It's perfectly safe," he reassured, but she barely heard him, her gaze focused on the three raptors who were currently secured in their harnesses. She could feel their gazes on her, evaluating her, _judging_ her.

She tried to take a step back. "I can meet them from outside," Claire said, her voice panicky.

"Claire," Owen said, stepping in front of her, blocking her view of the raptors. "Hey, look at me." It was hard to resist the urge to lean to the side, to confirm that the raptors were still safely locked up. She raised her gaze to his. "They can't hurt you. I promise. I would never do anything to put you in harm's way, you know that, right?"

She nodded.

"I'm not saying they're safe, we both know they're not," Owen said as he stepped to the side, so she could see them again. "But, they can't get you."

He moved closer to the raptors and Claire took hesitant steps alongside him, her hand clutching at his tightly. She was relieved when he didn't make a quip about it, and instead just introduced her to the raptors, one by one. Charlie. Echo. Blue. The three of them stared at her, watching her intently when Owen would place her hand on their necks. Even though they were restrained, she could feel the power running through them, how lean their bodies were, how full of strength.

"You know," she said when she finally stepped back, her gaze locked on Blue's, "I thought she was going to attack me. That afternoon, in the valley. But she didn't. And I don't get why."

"When?" Owen asked, looking between Claire and the raptor. Claire could tell he was thinking over that day, trying to recall what she was referring to.

"Right before you showed up, with the ATV," she said. "One of the Indoraptors, I can't remember which one now, had tossed her aside, and she landed right in front of me. She stared at me, with her head cocked to the side, like she was… like she was debating what to do. And then…"

"What?"

"She just turned and raced back into the fight," Claire shrugged. She finally tore her gaze away from Blue to look at Owen. "She could've killed me. I had nothing to defend myself with. But she didn't."

"They're not like the Indoraptors," Owen reminded her, stepping closer to her side. "And Blue's extra special. She's the most empathetic of the raptors. They're not indiscriminate killers. They weren't going after us — people — when they got out. They didn't even pick the battle with the Indoraptors."

"Delta attacked Hoskins," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but that's different," he replied, and Claire looked up at him, her question clear. "He'd never treated her well. He had it coming."

She leaned into his side, wrapping an arm around his waist as she looked at the raptors thoughtfully. "They've started talking about making more."

"More Indoraptors?" Owen almost pulled away, but she clutched at his side, keeping him close.

"No, hybrids are still on hold, thankfully. But Simon and InGen are talking about giving the go-ahead for R&D to start up again. We'd had some other species in development."

"That's… Is that good?"

Claire shrugged. "We need something. If the park's going to stay alive. I told Simon that I want to be more involved."

"How'd he take that?"

"Fine, I think. I mean, he didn't say 'no,' but who knows how things will play out." She pulled away from his side, starting towards the gate. "I need to get back to work."

Owen followed after her, the two walking quietly to her car, before stopping by the driver's side door.

Claire looked up at him, debating whether to ask what she wanted to ask. "If Hoskins gets his way, if he moves the raptors…" She looked back towards the paddock before meeting his gaze. "Are you really going to stay here?"

"I want to," Owen said, also looking back to the paddock. "Although, I suppose I won't have a job, then." He met her gaze, his voice taking on a joking tone. "Maybe I'll become a kept man."

"I'm sure we can figure out something for you to do," Claire rolled her eyes. "You know… Hoskins has also been talking about starting a new batch."

"Of raptors?" Owen asked, his eyes widening.

"Yeah," she nodded, her expression cloudy. "It's mostly just him musing so far, but…" She pulled open her car door. "But, that's a concern for another day." Claire looked over at him, her expression clearing, a smile emerging. "And hey, we've got bigger things to deal with today." She reached for him, tugging him towards her.

"Oh yeah?" Owen asked, his own arms wrapping around her, his head lowering towards hers.

"You're moving in," Claire said, her voice full of awe. "I need to do some re-organizing. Clean out some space–"

Her musings were cut off as Owen dipped his head, capturing her lips with his. He pulled back just long enough to say, "Worry about that tomorrow. Tonight, we're celebrating." Claire decided to take his advice, her hands creeping up his back, one tangling in the hair at the base of his neck, her mouth parting against his. Yeah, everything else could wait.

o-o-o

A week later, Claire still felt like she was floating on cloud nine. They had moved the rest of Owen's stuff to her place (well, the stuff that didn't make sense to keep at his trailer for use out there) the past weekend. It hadn't turned out to be all that much — really, he'd been practically living with her already. But, it still felt like a milestone. Like confirmation that the relationship was real, not a dream, and not fake. And that it was really happening, that he truly wanted it, and that it wasn't just something to "pass some time" for him.

She felt a little stupid when those thoughts crossed her mind, but… she still found it hard to believe that he really did want her. That this was all real and _not_ a dream. On her better days, she was able to just enjoy it for what it was. But, on her worst days, when everything happening at work would get to her, it would feel more imaginary than real, like it was just going to be the next thing to explode in her face.

However, she was working hard not to dwell on any of that and to just enjoy life as it was happening. Something she was, admittedly, not all that good at. But, she was working on it, and Owen was definitely helping. If only work would stop getting in the way.

The fallout of the Indoraptors escape two months ago was still invading every aspect of her job. While she hadn't expected it to all wrap up and go away quickly, she had hoped it would at least be less prevalent by now. But, the after-effects seemed to keep rippling outwards.

The main stumbling block was that the number of deaths had made it impossible to completely cover it up. The official story was that the Indoraptors (although they'd never released that name) had attacked their behaviourist, and then had an adverse reaction to the tranquilizers used, and killed the ACU team who were responding to the incident. That story claimed the Indoraptors had never escaped. And that story never mentioned the raptors' involvement.

But Claire knew that not everyone believed it. After all, for a few days afterwards, the Gyrosphere Valley had remained closed, and the timing of the Indoraptors incident with the supposed dinosaur illness in the Valley was too coincidental for all but the most naive to buy into.

While no guests had been harmed or exposed to the whole incident (well, except for Zach and Gray), animal attacks and deaths always made people nervous. December had ended up being one of their worst months since the park had originally opened, with many guests cancelling their reservations last minute. While January had started to pick up again, they still were pulling below average numbers. On top of that, when guests get nervous, investors do too. And now with Hoskins pushing to move the raptors to Sorna and Wu pushing to start up R&D again… Claire wished she could just take a break or hit pause or something. Really, she'd accept any distraction; even an annoying guest complaint would be a nice change of pace.

When her phone rang, she reached for it, not really sure who she hoped was going to be on the other end. The only person she really wanted to talk to these days — Owen — rarely called, as he preferred to text. Glancing at the caller ID, she was surprised to see a 707 area code. It wasn't one she was immediately familiar with, but she hesitantly answered the call anyway, as she simultaneously pulled her laptop closer to look the number up.

"Hello?" Claire answered.

"Hi, is this Claire Dearing?" a male voice replied.

"Yes, this is she. To whom am I speaking?" Claire asked, frowning as she looked at the result from her google search that was proclaiming the call was originating from Northern California.

"Oh, sorry, forgive me. Hi, I'm Eli Mills, I'm a representative of Sir Benjamin Lockwood."

"Of Mr. Lockwood, oh!" Claire couldn't hide her surprise. That was a name she hadn't heard in many years. Probably the last time she remembered it coming up was a few years after Jurassic World had originally opened.

"Yes," Eli stated. "He hired me — wow, almost a decade ago now — to run his foundation. I work with him to help advance causes he's interested in. As you probably know, Ben was Hammond's original business partner, back when the whole idea of Jurassic Park still seemed outlandish and unrealistic and, well, like science fiction. While they had a falling out years ago, Ben has never forgotten about the dinosaurs."

"I'm sorry," she interrupted him. "I don't quite understand why you're telling me this."

"Ben has been having some health issues recently," he informed her. "He knows that he's getting closer and closer to the end of his life and there's one area he feels like he still has unfinished business in..." he trailed off.

"The dinosaurs," Claire stated as the silence grew.

"Yes," Eli agreed. "He still cares about what happens to those animals. He has followed the development and growth of Jurassic World ever since its inception."

"Has he ever visited?" she asked, curious. She couldn't remember hearing about Lockwood visiting, and she was pretty sure that she would've known if he had. Even before she'd started to seriously climb the corporate ladder, the park had never been good at keeping VIP visits a secret.

"No, unfortunately," he said with a bit of a sigh. "I know he'd like to, but it's probably no longer possible." There was a brief pause, and Claire felt a bit panicked over how to respond to that. Thankfully, Eli continued on, "Ben would like to meet with you. He and I have been working on a proposal. A way for him to do something for the dinosaurs. Something less… commercial, if you will. And that's why I'm calling. I wanted to see if you would be willing to come here for a visit, to meet with Ben in person."

"Where abouts are you?" Claire asked, her mind already whirling as she thought over the possibility. It had been a while since she'd needed to take a business trip off island. Maybe a few days away would also help give her some perspective again.

"We're near Orrick, in Northern California," Eli answered. "If you can come, we can help with your travel arrangements. You can even stay here, if you'd like, at the Estate. The town's a little small." He paused briefly before asking, "Do you think you could come and meet with Ben?"

"Yes, that should definitely be doable," Claire agreed. "I'll need to look at my calendar to see what availability I have. When were you thinking?"

She spent a couple more minutes talking with Eli, gathering some information, before hanging up. Leaning back in her chair, she could feel a grin starting to take over. Maybe this is what she needed. Something new. Something that would help reinvigorate her excitement about the park. Going back to basics and her original love of dinosaurs. Not focusing on new species or hybrid development or boring park upgrades.

With a grin on her face, she pulled up her calendar, trying to see what she could move around so she could take a couple of days to fly up there. Maybe having decided to keep her job was going to turn out to be the right choice after all.

o-o-o

Owen was in the holding pen trying to quell his nerves, and those of the raptors. After their unexpected release into the park two months ago, and their subsequent injuries, the raptors had now spent more time with Dr. Molly Holt than they had in the five years before. They, like most animals, had never been keen on Molly's presence, but the frequency of the visits had just made it all that much worse. Especially for Charlie, who received the most scrutiny during each one, considering the lingering limp that was stubbornly refusing to go away.

Owen had spent most of Molly's visit shuffling between the raptors, sweet-talking them and rubbing gently down their snouts in order to help calm them down. He knew they could sense his own anxiety during these visits and that they would get more anxious along with him. It was always a struggle to try to keep both himself and the raptors calm.

"Well, how are they?" Owen asked, when Molly finally backed away from Echo, turning and crouching down to put her tools back into the bag she'd brought before closing it with a snap.

"They're looking really good," Molly said, standing back up and picking up her bag. "Really good. I think we can probably cut back their visits to the more regular quarterly schedule now, unless something comes up."

"Really?" Owen couldn't hide the relief in his tone. "Even Charlie?"

Charlie gave a huff from her stall at the mention of her name, and Owen saw her looking over at him. Surprisingly, she was the most complacent of the raptors during the check ups, seemingly understanding that the visits were to help and not hurt. Although, that didn't mean that she was compliant.

"Even Charlie," Molly nodded, stepping back towards the raptor and giving her a quick pat on her neck.

"I've got a few more questions," Owen told Molly, watching as she headed towards the gate to leave the pen. "Just give me a minute to release them back into the paddock first."

"Sure," Molly agreed. "I'm just going to go put my stuff back in the truck."

Once the gate closed behind Molly, Owen headed over to the control panel. Typing in the passcode, the harnesses unclamped and the gate that kept the raptors separated from the main paddock opened. He watched as the raptors quickly returned to the paddock, heading straight for the bit of jungle within before disappearing from sight. He stared blankly at the jungle for a minute after they were gone, his thoughts a jumble, before the sound of a car door slamming snapped him out of it. He quickly hit the close button, closing off the harness area from the main paddock, before turning to exit the pen.

Owen looked around for Molly and saw her heading back towards him from the vet truck, and he walked towards her, meeting partway.

"Charlie's limp," he started when he got close. "It doesn't look like it's getting any better."

"Yeah," Molly agreed with a sigh. "I was hoping to see some improvement, but it's been about the same for a few weeks now. I don't want to say for sure that it won't get any better, there's still time, of course. But…"

"You think it's unlikely," Owen said, his heart sinking as Molly nodded. While it was something he'd long expected, hearing her confirm it made it feel more real. Losing Delta had been hard, but he'd focused on the fact he'd still had the other three. Charlie's limp, however, was a daily reminder of the whole incident. It was hard to move forward when it continued to stare him in the face.

"Can you tell if it's affecting her in anyway? Her ability to get along with Blue and Echo or go about her normal routine?" Molly asked.

"No," Owen shook his head. "While she definitely seemed a bit cautious in her movements the first couple of weeks she was back here, she hasn't been for a while. But… it's also hard to say. _None_ of them are really acting normally, overall. It's like they've… regressed or something. Or maybe they've given up and just don't care. Tasks they used to be able to do… I don't think they've forgotten _how_, exactly, more that they just don't want to."

"Well," Molly looked thoughtful, her gaze drifting back towards the paddock, even though none of the raptors were visible from where they were standing. "While, medically, they are back in good health, we do know that animals, like humans, can suffer psychological harm. And the more intelligent the animal, the more likely they are to experience similar effects as we would. It's only been two months. They're still getting over Delta's death. A death I'm not so sure they understand, so much as they just know that she's no longer here. In the wild, they would've been more likely to witness when she died. In this case, they got tranq'd in the Valley and then woke up either here or, in Charlie's case, at the Vet Center. And then, when Charlie was returned to the paddock, Delta wasn't with her. It's got to be confusing, at the very least."

"And they know now, for sure, that the world is so much bigger than their paddock," Owen added with a sigh. "I'm never sure which of those two is getting to them more."

Molly's features softened, and she reached out and patted his arm sympathetically. "At the moment, all I can really suggest is time," she said. "Keep an eye on them. Maybe increase their training schedule a bit, so they have less down time. Staying busy can help. But… you know them best, Owen. Follow your instincts. You've done a great job so far." She glanced down at her watch. "I've got to get going. I've still got the Baryonyx to check on today."

"Right, sure," Owen said. "Thanks for coming out."

"Let me know if anything changes," Molly reminded him. "Otherwise, I'll be back in a few months."

He nodded, giving her a bit of a wave as she started back towards her truck. Turning around himself, he headed towards the stairs to the catwalk. As he reached them, Owen paused, before detouring to grab a bucket of rats. Molly was right, keeping busy could be a good thing. Maybe an impromptu training session could help.

o-o-o

"So, besides Lockwood, what's the latest?" Simon asked.

Claire turned to him in surprise. The two had been walking quietly down the corridor on their way back to their offices from the lab. "The latest?" She wasn't really sure what he was asking, and didn't want to try and guess.

"Normally you're a constant stream of updates when we meet," Simon replied, giving her a searching look. "Is something going on? Something wrong?"

"Wrong? No. Well, I mean," Claire started, before pausing as she tried to organize her thoughts. "In some ways, things are starting to get back to normal, after the whole Indoraptors incident. Everyone seems less on edge. There's less talk about the incident — both here and online. And the conspiracy theories that abounded immediately afterwards have lost most of their steam. Our newest batch of ACU members arrived last week, and so those numbers are starting to get back to a more manageable level."

"And in other ways?"

"Our visitor counts are still down," Claire admitted. "As you know, guest satisfaction took a bit of a dive immediately after the incident, and while it's climbed back into the 90s, it's only hanging on by a thread. The question about safety is where we're still getting our biggest hit."

"But there have been no injuries, nothing unexpected the last couple of months," Simon said, a look of confusion on his face. "Not even during the incident in question were any guests injured. Everyone was fine." Claire frowned at that, and Simon quickly corrected himself. "Guests — the guests were fine. Have there been other incidents I don't know about?"

"No, I mean, nothing out of the ordinary," Claire confirmed. "There's always minor stuff, but those are just that, minor." She shrugged. "Now that the fallout isn't taking up all of my time, I've been back focused on our numbers again. Trying to come up with ideas on how to get them back up. How to get people excited to visit again."

"We need a new attraction," Simon immediately said, his tone decisive. Claire tried to not visibly flinch at his words. While she'd expected him to suggest that, she wasn't ready to go there herself.

"Maybe," she said slowly. "But, our last two have failed, spectacularly. I'm hesitant to go down that path right now."

"They've been our most profitable," he reminded her, holding open a door for Claire to pass through.

"Right, when they go well," she agreed. "But when they go badly, they're also our biggest financial disasters." There were days she appreciated Simon's positive view and ambitious ideas, but right now, his inability to fully register the impact of the incident was just making her job harder. She didn't like having to be the one always pointing out the negatives. "We need something, for sure. I know our investors have started to get a bit squirrely, between the two failed launches and our now lower than expected numbers. I'm still not quite sure what the solution is. We still need to replace the Apatosaurus in the Valley." Out of everything that had happened that day, the Apatosaurus's death seemed to continually get forgotten. "Starting with just adding some more of the current species, especially the herbivores, would probably be a good start," Claire said decisively, before letting out a sigh and continuing with: "But it's not going to be enough."

"I know Henry has a lot of ideas," Simon commented, following Claire into her office. There was a brief pause in the conversation as they both settled on either side of her desk. "And I know that he's eager to get started again. These last couple of months have been tough on him."

Claire barely managed to keep from rolling her eyes at Simon's comment. She knew (she'd had more than a few conversations herself with Henry) how agitated and frustrated Henry was over the freeze on his research. However, she found it difficult to summon any sympathy for him, not after seeing first hand the carnage his creations had caused. That Henry still didn't seem to fully understand the impact of what he created continued to boggle her mind. There were days she was sure he must just be being purposefully ignorant. He was too smart to not get it. Unfortunately she had to save all her frustrations over Henry for conversations with Owen, as Simon seemed to have a blind spot for the man. Maybe because he'd known him much longer than Claire, or because Henry had been there since the original start of it all.

"It's his ideas that worry me," Claire admitted. "I think he gets too caught up in what he can do, that he doesn't always see the full potential of what he's creating. I don't like the idea of us being so hands off again. Not now, now with what's happened."

"We do have that empty paddock," Simon said. "Surely there must be some species, not a hybrid, but something else, we can put in there. The costs would be lower, as we wouldn't have the same construction expenses, but we'd still get the bump of a new attraction."

"You really want to use Paddock 11 again?" Claire couldn't hide her surprise.

Every time she thought about that paddock a shudder ran through her. She felt stupid for thinking it, but the paddock felt cursed.

"Why not?" Simon asked with a shrug. "It's available. And surely, at this point, it must be overly engineered for a simple herbivore."

_Simple_. Claire hid her reaction to that word. There was nothing about any of the dinosaurs that was _simple_. "Maybe," she finally said, not wanting to commit any further. "I'm still interested in what Mr. Lockwood is going to propose. Hopefully he's got something we haven't thought of."

* * *

_Just like with IC, I'll be posting this on a regular schedule — every Thursday night. It's looking to probably end up somewhere north of 20 chapters again (what can I say, I'm wordy). Make sure you subscribe so you'll be notified when each chapter is posted.  
_

This is the first time I'm doing a real sequel to a story I've written (I don't count snapshots as a sequel) and so I'm a little nervous. I hope you are all as eager for this one as you were for IC. Please let me know what you thought of the first chapter and help calm my nerves!

_(Also, if you're didn't catch it, over the last month Elise and I finished posting Act II of _**The Missing Years**_ (Claire and Owen and Eli and Henry and Indoraptors oh my!) and I posted a new _**Snapshot**_ (Maisie's POV for a change) at the start of this week.)_


	2. Chapter 2

_As I'm always remiss when I start stories, big thanks to Nadin and Elise for always allowing me to bounce ideas off of them, and their encouragement, motivation, beta reading, editing, inspiration, and everything else._

**Chapter 2**

As the chauffeured car pulled to a stop in front of the large stone building, Claire stared out of her window in awe. She knew that she was going to the Lockwood _Estate_, but she hadn't realized exactly what that meant. The grounds were perfectly manicured, and the driveway had seemed to stretch on for miles from the gate until the "house" had come into view. The looming stone structure in front of her was both inspiring and intimidating all at once.

Climbing out of the car, Claire carefully straightened her skirt and jacket, before raising her chin and heading confidently up the stone steps. Grasping the large brass door knocker, she banged it against the door a few times and then took a step back and waited.

She didn't have to wait long before the door opened, an older woman looking out at her. Before Claire had a chance to say anything, the woman spoke up.

"Oh, Ms. Dearing, welcome," she said, stepping back and gesturing for Claire to enter. "If you'll just wait here, I'll go and let Mr. Mills know that you've arrived."

Claire used the opportunity to look around the lobby, which was a wide open space that stretched up to a skylight three stories above. There was a large wooden staircase covered in a thick rug that curved up one wall towards the second floor, but that wasn't what caught her eye. Instead, she found herself examining the large oil paintings that hung on the walls. Most were of people she didn't know, but there was one she recognized. After all, she saw his statute every single day on Nublar. John Hammond.

"Ah, Mr. Hammond." Claire turned at the sound of the voice to see a man a few years younger than herself, who she presumed to be Eli Mills, descending the stairs. "The father of Jurassic Park."

As he approached, he graced her with an easy smile as he held out his hand. She shook it, appreciating the confidence he showed, and his relaxed mannerisms. Claire immediately felt a lot more at ease.

"I thought you said he and Mr. Lockwood had a falling out," she said, only to immediately wince, realizing it wasn't really the best start to their conversation. "Sorry, I'm just surprised to see him displayed so prominently here."

Eli let out a laugh. "They had a… complicated relationship, that's for sure. But, they were friends more than they were enemies. Family, almost." He held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Eli Mills."

"Claire Dearing." Claire returned. "It's so nice to meet you."

"Thank you for being so willing to come out here. It's difficult for Ben to travel these days," Eli told her, as he lead her through large double doors into an area that felt like it should belong in a museum, what with the various dinosaur fossils on display, and the dioramas framing the edges of the room. There was a second story, with a thin metal railing overlooking the area they were standing in, and Claire could see that level appeared to be a library, with shelving laden with books covering every inch of wall space. The entire ceiling was a giant skylight, flooding the room with natural light.

"Happy to be here," Claire told him, trying to hide her awe. She reminded herself that she'd dined with millionaires and billionaires before. That she'd met more famous people than she could remember. But, those had always happened on Nublar, where she'd felt like she'd had the upper hand, on her home turf. She felt out of place here.

"Everything started right here," Eli told her, his own gaze travelling the room. "Well, to be more precise, right below our feet. This is where the very first experiments were carried out, and the very first dinosaurs were brought back."

"Wow," Claire couldn't stop her jaw from dropping open.

Information on the origins of Jurassic Park before it moved to Nublar were sparse. She'd always assumed it was a combination of not wanting information to get into the wrong hands, and also protecting themselves against any laws that may have broken in whatever country they had done their original work. Manipulating genes even now in 2017, much less back in the late 80s and early 90s, was still often frowned upon and tightly regulated.

"It's awe-inspiring, isn't it?" Eli grinned at her.

"This place is just…" Claire trailed off, still feeling overwhelmed. "It's like a museum. Living history."

"It's hard to believe how long it's been," a new voice joined them, and Claire spun around to see an old man in a wheelchair rolling into the room, "but calling it history makes me feel positively ancient." He came to a stop near her, holding out his hand. "Hello, Claire, I'm Benjamin Lockwood."

"Mr. Lockwood, hi," Claire quickly stepped forward, bending to shake his hand. "Thank you so much for inviting me out here."

"It's our pleasure," Lockwood waved away her thanks, pausing mid motion to cover a cough. "Sorry, I've got a bit of a cold I haven't been able to shake." He looked around the room briefly, as if seeing it through her eyes, before meeting her gaze again, his expression sad. "It's hard to believe it's been over 25 years."

Claire wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, and she shifted a bit nervously. However, Lockwood continued, before the silence started to stretch.

"There are days where I'm no longer sure if we did the right thing, anymore, what with bringing the dinosaurs back. But," he gazed at a large model that was taking up a significant chunk of floor space — a model Claire instantly recognized as Nublar, although the layout and shapes of the buildings were different from what she was used to. She took a step closer to it, realizing that the gate at the entrance said Jurassic Park, not World, and the buildings and their placement made more sense. "But, there are days where I'm still overwhelmed over it all. These dinosaurs have always been my life's work. And to see them roaming again… it's like a miracle."

"It is," Claire nodded in agreement. "Did you ever visit the park?"

"No," Lockwood paused to cough again. "John and I had our falling out about a year before everything happened at Jurassic Park. I meant to make it out to Jurassic World, but… well, life can get in the way."

Claire followed his gaze up to the second balcony, where she was surprised to see a young girl staring down at them, a girl who immediately backed away from the railing when they looked.

"My granddaughter," Lockwood explained. "She keeps me on my toes."

"I'm sure she'd love the park," Claire offered up. "Have her parents ever taken her?"

"Her mother — my daughter — passed away in a car crash," Lockwood said, looking back up at the balcony, although the girl was no longer there. "She's lived with me ever since."

"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that," Claire replied, wishing she'd done some more research on Lockwood before this visit. How had she not known that? "If you are ever able to make it down, do let me know. We'd be happy to arrange a visit."

"I'll see what we can do," Lockwood nodded. "I'm not sure I can, but, depending how things go, I imagine Eli may be spending some time down there. Maybe he can take her."

"What is it that you're hoping to discuss," Claire asked, grateful for the opening into the actual reason for her visit. "Mr. Mills said you had a proposal."

o-o-o

Claire shed her suit jacket as soon as she walked into her hotel room, draping it carefully over the chair. She wandered over to the window, although there wasn't much to look at. While the Lockwood Estate had been jaw dropping, the hotels in nearby Orrick were anything but. Eli had actually offered to host her at the Estate when she'd originally planned her visit, but she'd chosen not to. It hadn't felt right, not when she didn't know them and was coming up on business.

After her visit, she was even more glad she had the hotel to retreat to for the night. It wasn't that things had gone badly. Both Eli and Mr. Lockwood had been exceptionally nice. And so had Iris, the woman who had opened the door. She had also met Maisie, Lockwood's grandchild, briefly, but the girl had been shy. However, she wasn't really sure what to think about the proposal. Or maybe she should call it _proposals_, since it didn't feel like Eli and Lockwood were in complete agreement on what they were asking.

Kicking off her heels, she quickly shed the rest of her clothing, happy to change into her pajamas and just relax. Sitting down on the bed with her laptop, she opened it up with the intention to try to catch up on work, knowing her inbox would be overflowing. However, she found her gaze drifting to her phone, and in the end she picked it up, sending off a quick text to Owen: **I miss you**. Placing the phone back down, she focused on her email.

She had just started to reply to her second one when her phone rang, startling her. A glance at it showed a photo of Owen smiling back at her, and she grabbed it, answering quickly.

"Owen," Claire greeted him. She hadn't realized until she'd answered just how much she needed to hear his voice.

"_I miss you, too,_" Owen replied, his voice sounding weary.

"Long day?"

"_Long week,_" Owen groaned. "_But, I don't want to think about that._"

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"_Anything but the raptors,_" Owen said quickly. "_Or Hoskins. Or InGen. Or Sorna. Or—_"

"Wow, you must've _really_ had a day," she said, letting out a chuckle.

"_What about you? How did your meeting go?_" he asked. She could hear him shifting around, and she pictured him sitting on their couch, his feet kicked up on the coffee table and a bottle of beer in hand. Glancing around the bleak hotel room, she longed to be back there with him, curled into his side, as they discussed their respective days.

"It went… it went fine," Claire said. "Sort of odd."

"_How so? What is he proposing?_"

"Well, that's what was odd about it. My meeting with Lockwood was good. Inspiring, really," she said, feeling more relaxed as she focused on that part of the day. "He really loves the dinosaurs. I think you'd really like him. He's interested in investing in the park, sort of. I mean, he's not wanting to invest the way most of our investors are. He doesn't want to sponsor a new species or attraction. He's not looking for a return on his investment. In fact, he wasn't all that interested in our visitor stats or any of the numbers I had to share. He was just focused on the dinosaurs. On making sure that they have the best life they can have."

"_But he wants to support caging them? Making them a display for visitors?_" Owen asked, his voice skeptic. "_That seems… at odds._"

"He was talking more about conservation. About eventually transitioning Jurassic World away from a theme park. To, long term, change its focus to conservation instead."

"_I thought you said he's old. How long term can he be thinking?_"

Owen's question was something that Claire had been struggling with all day. She believed that Lockwood was being honest in what he was telling her. That he truly meant and felt what he was saying. But, he didn't look to be in the best of health, and it made her cautious to believe that he would be capable of fulfilling what he was proposing. Then again, maybe he was looking ahead, trying to figure out what his legacy would be. And hoping that he still had time to change it. That if he could set them down this path, that the journey would continue long after he wasn't there to see it through.

"He's got a granddaughter — Maisie," Claire offered. "He was talking about protecting the dinosaurs for the future, for our children." She winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She didn't mean _their_ children. Now was _way_ too early to be having that conversation. She quickly continued to talk, hoping he wouldn't catch that. "And when he was saying that, I don't think he meant so she could go ride around in a Gyrosphere when she's older. But more simply, that she would get to grow up in a world that still has dinosaurs."

"_Does he think Jurassic World is going to wipe them all out? Has he _met _Masrani?_" Owen sounded confused. "_I can't imagine anything that would be the end of the dinosaurs. I mean even the incident from two months ago has had little impact on everything._"

Claire winced again, but this time it was over Owen's lack of understanding of the impact the incident had. Which was probably her fault, but after long work days of having to deal with it, she had never really wanted to talk about it in the evenings. Instead she had just glossed it over and brushed it aside, which had been easy since he'd never pushed for more details. In all fairness, she knew he had been swamped trying to take care of his raptors, which had been made all the more difficult when Delta had died.

"All it would take is a single illness. Or Mt. Sibo becoming active again," Claire reminded him. "The dinosaurs, as large and impressive as they appear, are fragile. They weren't meant for this world, and it takes a lot of work to keep them surviving in it. You know that."

"_Right… so what about the day was odd? Lockwood's ideas sound promising. I mean, I don't know exactly how you'll do what he wants, but I'm not going to disagree with someone who wants to put the dinosaurs before money._"

"It was just something Eli said — a few things he said, really," Claire sighed. She moved the laptop off her lap, and squirmed farther down on the bed until she was lying down, pulling up the covers.

"_Eli — that's the guy who works for Lockwood?_" Owen clarified.

"Yeah, he's worked for him for eight years or so. Right out of college, he said," Claire confirmed. "He helps decide where and how Lockwood should spend his money."

Owen let out a low whistle. "_Wow, nice job._"

"It is, although a little isolated," Claire agreed. "But, he probably travels a lot. So maybe not so bad."

"_Not sure we should be judging others on isolation, we do live on an island,_" he pointed out.

"With more than 20 thousand other people," she countered.

"_Transient people. Even most of the employees are essentially transient. Here for a few months to a year at most,_" Owen replied. "_I'm not complaining. You know how much I love my isolated lot._"

"Are you out there now?" Claire asked, her thoughts momentarily derailed.

She was now realizing that this trip was actually the first time she and Owen had been apart since they had gotten together. Sure, they had only moved in together a couple of weeks ago, but they hadn't actually spent any time away from one another before then. And they had kept his old place. Had he gone back there now that she wasn't around?

"_Nope,_" Owen replied cheerfully. "_I ordered in pizza and wings and have been sitting on the couch and watching the game. Can't do that out there. Besides…_" There was a pause, and Claire wondered if he was going to finish his thought as it started to stretch, but she waited him out. "_Besides, it's lonely without you,_" he finally admitted. "_At least here, it sort of feels like you're around._"

"Aw, you really do miss me," she said after a short pause of her own, and though her words sounded teasing, her tone was anything but.

"_I said I did,_" he agreed softly.

"I miss you too," she replied. "I've never—" she cut herself off, feeling a bit sheepish with what she had been about to say.

"_You've never what?"_ Owen asked.

"I've gone on lots of business trips," Claire said. "And I enjoy them. But this is the first time that…" she knew she was blushing and was so glad he couldn't see her, but he'd admitted to feeling lonely without her and so she pushed through. "The first time where I wish I was back there." She managed to keep from saying her other thought, that it was the first time there was someone on Nublar waiting for her to return.

"_You're back tomorrow, right?_" he asked.

"I am," she said. "Should get to the island late afternoon."

"_Good,_" Owen replied. "_It's not the same here with you._"

"I saw you only yesterday," she protested, although a smile was creeping across her face.

"_Barely_," he argued back, but his tone was lighthearted. "_Hey, are you taking the ferry over?_"

"Helicopter," she said, chuckling at his disappointed groan. "Why, were you going to come meet me? Try to sweep me off my feet?"

"_You can't tell me you don't want the whole cliche airport greeting routine,_" Owen laughed. "_And here I was looking forward to doing so."_ His tone was full of mock disappointment.

"That's a little too public for me," Claire replied. "But, tell you what, you can greet me back at our place instead."

"_Oh, private, even better,_" he agreed. "_See, I knew you missed me._"

"I already told you I do," she said, before adding, "But what I really miss is my bed." She shuffled around, trying to get comfortable.

"_It is a great bed,_" he said with a laugh. There was a short pause, and then Owen redirected them back on topic. "_So what happened with that Eli guy?_"

"It's not really anything specific," Claire said, her mind going back to the conversation she'd had with Lockwood's financial advisor. "It's more… the way he said things? It's just a feeling, I guess. It doesn't seem like he has the same outlook as Lockwood."

"_He doesn't want to help the dinosaurs?_"

She chewed on her lip. "No, not that. I think he's fine with that. More, he's young. Younger than us. Early 30s, I think?"

"_Not _that _much younger,_" Owen protested.

Claire ignored him, continuing, "Lockwood's not going to be around for the rest of his life. I wonder what he's planning to do next."

"_You think he's looking at this with a bigger goal in mind?_" Owen clarified.

"I think… I don't know what I think," Claire admitted. "It's probably nothing. He's worked with Lockwood for years. And Lockwood seems very much on the up and up."

"_Are you going to meet with them again?_"

"The plan is for them to put together a more detailed proposal and then Eli will come out and present it to Simon. Everything is still a bit too vague for us to act on. But… I'm hopeful," Claire said. "God knows we could use some good news and good press."

"_What are your plans for the rest of the night?_" Owen asked. She could hear him shuffling around their place.

"Was going to try and catch up on some work," she said, glancing over at the laptop lying beside her. "But, to be honest, I'm—" she was interrupted by a yawn.

"_You should get some sleep,_" he told her. "_You can deal with work tomorrow on the plane._"

"Yeah," Claire agreed. "Thanks for calling, Owen."

"_Always,_" he replied. "_Goodnight. Love you._"

"Goodnight. Love you, too."

* * *

_Next chapter is a lot of Clawen fluff. So weird to write them all happy and stuff. :P _

_As always, I'd love to hear what you thought. Subscribe, favourite and write a comment in that little box. Please? _

_Oh - and if you're a registered account, I do my best to reply to all comments. But heads up that FFn has temporarily disabled sending notification emails for PMs, so make sure you're checking your inbox and not relying on the emails (as I usually do)._


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is just 100% Clawen, but I make no apologies. This was one of the first ideas I had for this fic, and while not driving the plot forward, it was just too fun to skip. :) Enjoy!

**Chapter 3**

Claire was just finishing up her midday visit to the control room and getting ready to head back to her office when Lowery spoke up.

"I wish I had your connections. I tried to get a reservation at Nobu three months ago for tonight," Lowery told her.

"Reservation where?" Claire replied as she paused in her tracks, having only been half paying attention. She was pretty sure she didn't have a dinner scheduled tonight. In fact, she had been looking forward to just a quiet evening at home. The last few days had felt extra hectic.

"Oh, um…" Lowery looked away from her, his expression suddenly panicked. "Forget I said anything."

"What? Why?" Claire was more confused now.

Lowery was staring at Vivian, clearly hoping to be saved.

"Nothing, doesn't matter," Vivian finally said as the silence stretched. "Will we see you later?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in a few hours," Claire said slowly, eyeing the two curiously. She was pretty sure as she turned to leave, she saw Vivian kick Lowery in the shin and hiss something at him. What was going on?

Pushing those thoughts away, she rode the elevator back up to her office, pulling up her emails as she walked down the hall. She heard Zara approaching just as she was about to enter her office. Something bright caught her eye, and Claire paused midstep, looking up from her phone. There, on her desk, was a large bouquet of red roses.

"They're gorgeous, aren't they?" Zara asked when Claire didn't say anything.

Claire just stared at the roses as all she could think was that she must be missing something. She took the few steps to her desk, spying a small white envelope tucked in amongst the flowers. Pulling it out, she opened it up and removed the card. The note inside was short and straight to the point. _Nobu. 7pm. Love, Owen. _She felt a smile lighting up her face. She'd rarely had anyone send her flowers, or surprise her with dinner at her favourite restaurant before. The day was definitely looking up.

"What does it say?" Zara asked, stepping closer to Claire. Claire simply handed over the card. "Wow, Nobu. Expensive normally, but for Valentine's Day? He's really going all out! Maybe he could give Alec some lessons."

Claire quickly bit her lip, trying to hide her surprise. _Valentine's Day_? She surreptitiously glanced down at her phone and yep, February 14th was staring back at her. How had she missed that? No wonder Lowery and Vivian were being cagey.

"I wonder how he managed to get a reservation?" Zara continued, seemingly oblivious to Claire's lack of response. "Oh, you know what would be so romantic?" Zara added, her eyes growing wide. "Maybe he'll propose tonight."

Claire was pretty sure her heart stopped for a few seconds, before it started racing at triple speed, the floor swaying beneath her feet. _Propose_? She really hoped he didn't. He wouldn't do that — in public no less — only a couple months into them dating, would he? They'd never even discussed marriage before. Looking at Zara, Claire had to consciously force herself not to grab onto something to keep herself steady.

"That would be a much better story than Alec's proposal. I told you what he did, right?" Zara said, before continuing without waiting for an answer. "We were just getting back to our place after having grabbed take out from Yoshinoya when he just said randomly 'hey, want to get married?' He didn't even have a ring on him at the time."

"At least it wasn't public," Claire managed to gasp out.

"That's true," Zara nodded thoughtfully. "I wouldn't want to be put on the spot. I mean, I wanted to marry him, so it wasn't like I was going to say no, but… Yeah, public proposals are a lot of pressure. But Owen knows you. I doubt he'd make it public."

Claire just nodded numbly, more in acknowledgement of hearing Zara's words than in agreement, but her mind was whirling. In a matter of seconds Owen's sweet gesture now felt like a cement block weighing her down. It wasn't that she didn't want to be with him, but marriage? Maybe someday, but not now. And definitely not with a public proposal. If that was his plan… how was she going to make it through the night?

o-o-o

Approaching their front door, Owen wiped his hands against his pants, his palms feeling sweaty. He was glad he'd sent the flowers earlier with his invitation, as he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold them steady. He felt like his heart was pounding. And most of all, he felt stupid over what he knew was his overreaction to the day.

Since they had gotten together, Claire had never mentioned their first date. (And he still couldn't believe that was over two years ago now — where did the time go?) But he still felt bad about it.

Which is what had led him to tonight. They hadn't actually gone on any real "dates" now that they were officially together. Sure, they'd had dinner out multiple times, but it had never felt like a _date_-date. They had been more a result of "_I don't feel like cooking, want to go out for dinner?"_ It hadn't helped that Claire had been swamped with dealing with the aftermath of the Indoraptor incident and, similarly, he'd been busy with his recovering raptors. The idea of even planning a date hadn't been on his mind. Not until he'd looked at the calendar a couple of weeks ago.

The timing had felt right. And he'd been wanting a do-over. A chance to finally have a proper date.

He'd even gone so far as to take clothes with him that morning so he could get changed out at his old lot. He wanted to pick her up at her place (okay, technically _theirs _now), like he should've on their first date. He wanted Claire to know that he could be more than board shorts and tequila. If only his nerves would just go away.

Wiping his hands against his pants one last time, he lifted his hand and knocked, shuffling his feet nervously. Was it weird that he was knocking on his own door? Maybe he should've just gone in.

Before he could reach for his key, the door opened. He looked up eagerly, only to have to try to hide his disappointment: Claire was still dressed as how he'd seen her that morning when she'd left for work. "Oh, I thought you'd be ready," he said. "Did you have to work late?"

"Wow, you look…" Claire gave him a once over as she trailed off. "I didn't realize you were getting all dressed up."

Owen tugged self consciously at his tie. "Is it okay?" he asked, hating how apparent his nerves were. Where had his normal confidence gone?

"Yeah, I just… I feel underdressed now," Claire looked down at her own outfit. "Do I have time to change?"

"Sure," he nodded, mostly because he really did want this to be a date and not just the two of them catching dinner after work. He glanced at his watch. They didn't have a lot of time before their reservation, but Claire was an important enough person on the island that he didn't think they'd give their table away. (After all, it was only through the use of her name that he'd been able to make the reservation relatively last minute.)

He paced around their living room after Claire disappeared into their bedroom. He was half-tempted to follow after her, but he knew if he did, they wouldn't be getting out of there anytime soon.

Not soon enough (at least, according to his watch and his nerves), the bedroom door reopened, and Claire stepped out, still putting in her earrings.

Owen gulped, feeling his jaw drop. He was suddenly reminded of seeing Claire dressed up for Zara's wedding. He wasn't sure what caused that thought, the dress she was wearing tonight being black, not pink, and with thin straps, not strapless, but his gaze slowly drifted down her body, taking in how well the thin fabric hugged all of her curves.

"You look amazing. Gorgeous." He stepped forward, meaning to give her a quick kiss, but she pulled him to her and for a couple of moments he was lost. It too him some effort to regain his senses and pull back. He needed to get them out the door before they ended up not going at all. "Are you ready to go?"

She looked almost disappointed at his reaction, but he was fighting his own urge to just stay home. For once he'd actually made plans, and he was determined to keep them.

"We need to get going," he told her, glancing down at his watch again, ushering towards the door.

"From your note I thought you were meeting me at the restaurant," Claire commented as they left the condo.

"Oh." Owen thought back to what he'd written. Yeah, it probably could've been understood that way. He suddenly felt like he had already screwed up. "I couldn't wait that long to see you." He gave her a wide smile, hoping his charm would cover his nerves and focused on pressing the button for the elevator.

The elevator was silent as they rode down and Owen could feel himself starting to panic again. He was struggling to figure out what to say, which wasn't a frequent occurrence. About halfway down, the elevator stopped to let on a couple of guests, who were chattering loudly, making up for the awkward silence. As he and Claire stepped back to make room for them, he reached for her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. When she squeezed his hand back, he felt himself relax a smidge.

The ride across the lagoon in the monorail was noisy, and so they continued in silence, but it no longer felt as awkward or uncomfortable. He kept glancing over at Claire, but she didn't look upset or annoyed or anything, and she had continued to hold his hand so he figured he was just overthinking everything.

Once they arrived at the restaurant, they were quickly ushered to their table. While Nobu had a fancy and generally romantic atmosphere, Owen was pretty sure the lights were set even dimmer than usual, and that there were more candles and flowers than the last time he'd been there. And a lot of red.

"Should we do the premium tasting menu again?" he asked as he struggled to stay focused on the menu in front of him.

Now that they were there, he was hoping he could finally relax, but _that _didn't appear to be on the menu tonight, for whatever reason. There was no itinerary and no board shorts, Owen mused, and he was not about to even whisper the word tequila. This time, not only had he'd sent her flowers in advance and had picked her up at their place, but they were both equally dressed up and were at a romantic restaurant on the most romantic night of the year. Regardless of what happened next (and ignoring that he already knew he'd get to go home with her), it was already hands down going much better than their first date. So why didn't it _feel_ better? Why did it feel so off?

Claire agreed on their order, and after a couple of awkward starts, they shifted into regular conversation, both of them revisiting the highlights of their day. When their waiter came by, Owen gave their order before asking about champagne.

"Oh, no, not champagne," Claire protested, wrinkling her nose. Owen looked over at her in surprise. "Not tonight. What about tequila? Maybe we could do some shots?"

Owen felt his jaw drop at that. Tequila? _At Nobu?_ Was she feeling okay? Here he was trying to avoid all the pitfalls of their first date and she was plowing them headfirst into one of the biggest.

"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly, feeling his stomach churning, but also not wanting to turn her down. He wanted her to enjoy the night.

Before she could respond, the waiter spoke up, "What about a nice Saké?"

Owen looked back at Claire, unsure how to respond. Would she want to do that? The pause was long enough that he worried she was going to ask for the tequila again, but then she nodded. He listened silently as the waiter gave them a brief run down of their options. When Claire looked at him, he deferred back to her.

As the waiter finally stepped away, Owen turned back to Claire. "Tequila shots? Really?"

"It's not like we haven't done them before," Claire said with a quick shrug. She was right, they had, but that seemed like the wrong set of memories for tonight. Not only that, but the whole idea didn't really fit in with the fancy restaurant and romantic date atmosphere he was aiming for.

Struggling to figure out the right response, Owen finally said, "You're going to make me wish I'd taken you to Margaritaville again." Was he doing this all wrong? Did she _not_ want to go on fancy dates? Maybe he shouldn't have surprised her with tonight. She did like being in control… surprises probably weren't her favourite thing. He could feel his heart pounding, his nerves starting to rise again, and he started to ramble. "Chips, salsa, tequila…"

"Throw in some queso and it sounds like a good night to me," she said with a big grin.

That confirmed it, right? He shouldn't have done this. He had made a huge mistake. He let out a mock sigh, playing up his pretend offense to cover his real concern, "And here I was going for romantic." He reached for her hand, grasping it on top of the table. At least she seemed to be in a good mood. He would focus on that.

"It is nice to dress up," Claire admitted, before scanning him over. "And really nice to see _you_ do so."

"It's definitely not my preferred outfit," Owen grimaced, before quickly smiling. "But, you're worth it."

At that, she pulled her hand away from him, leaving Owen confused. What had he said wrong now?

"I'm sorry, I just need to use the restroom," Claire said, as she quickly stood up from the table.

Nodding, Owen watched her leave, before letting his gaze drift around the room. The place was packed with couples, and for a moment, he felt a bit uncomfortable. He generally wasn't a fan of commercial holidays, and he had managed to avoid this day with all his past relationships. But Claire was different. While he still wasn't feeling particularly pro Valentine's Day, he was really happy to be there with her. If only he could figure out what he was doing wrong and how he could fix it.

The rest of their meal went by quickly. The food was good, as expected. And so was the Saké. So much so that Owen found himself trying to slow down his drinking, as he didn't actually want to get drunk. Not tonight, and not at Nobu. But Claire didn't seem to share the same idea, and he watched with rising concern as she got more and more tipsy over the course of the meal.

He wasn't really sure what he should do, if anything. He'd only ever seen her drunk once before (the night of the fateful tequila shots). While she commonly had a glass of wine or a beer with dinner, it was usually just that: _a_ glass or _a_ beer. Unlike the tequila night, this time, the alcohol seemed to be loosening her up, and she had become sort of giggly as the evening went on. While he wasn't sure what was driving her to drink (was it _him_?), the more she relaxed, the easier conversation and the rest of the meal had been.

As they were finishing up their final bites, their waiter reappeared. "Can I interest you two in dessert tonight?"

"Oh, I'm so full," Claire said. "I don't know that I can eat another bite."

"Actually, I already arranged for the dessert special," Owen admitted to the waiter.

"Oh, I must have missed that, sorry," the waiter apologized. "I'll go make sure it's ready."

"Oh, you don't need to do that," Claire said, before looking at Owen. "Seriously, Owen, I'm stuffed."

Owen looked between Claire and the waiter, unsure what to do. The restaurant had been advertising a special dessert just for Valentine's Day, but you'd had to order it when you made your reservation, which was what he'd done. They usually got dessert when they went out, so it had seemed like the right thing to do.

"Tell you what," the waiter said, "I can pack it up for you two to take."

"Sure, that would be great," Owen nodded quickly, feeling dumb he hadn't thought to suggest that himself. After all, there was no reason they had to eat it there. As it was a nice night, he'd actually been thinking they could go for a walk through the Botanical Gardens before heading home. They could eat it out there, in the clearing with the firefly lights.

After settling their bill, and with their boxed dessert hanging from one hand, Owen followed Claire out of the restaurant. While the sun had long set, there was a warm breeze coming from the ocean. Main Street was still pretty busy as guests explored the few remaining shops that were open and patronized the restaurants.

Claire immediately turned towards the monorail station, but Owen grabbed her hand, pulling back. She looked at him in surprise.

"I was thinking we could go for a walk in the botanical gardens. It's been a while since we've done that," he suggested. "And we've still got our dessert." He held up the small box.

"I'm actually kind of tired," she replied, her gaze focused on the box hanging from his hand for a long moment, before she looked back up at him. "It's been a long week."

"But it's only Tuesday," he said, his brow furrowed.

"Tell that to the guests," she said with a shrug. "You know nothing here runs Monday to Friday."

"Yeah," Owen looked down at the box in his hand and then over at Claire.

He wasn't sure how to interpret what had been going on tonight. While it wasn't that it had been _bad_, it had felt off all evening, he just couldn't figure out why. He was at a loss as to what to do now. Watching as she sort of swayed on her feet, he was reminded that she had to be feeling pretty tipsy if not outright drunk. Maybe there had been something at work she hadn't been telling him, something that had been driving her to drink so much tonight.

Letting out a slow breath, he reached for her hand. "Sure, let's head home."

o-o-o

As they stood outside the restaurant, Claire watched as Owen's face fell when she turned down his offer of a walk. Even since he'd shown up, all dressed up in an actual _suit and tie_, she'd felt even more on edge than she'd been after Zara had made her ridiculous comment about him proposing earlier that afternoon. All she'd been able to think was that Zara was right. She'd spent the entire dinner trying to make sure that didn't actually happen. And all she felt like she'd managed to actually do was upset him.

Which, in turn, had led to her drinking more than normal, as she tried to figure out how to not ruin their night while also not letting anything happen that she didn't want. She hadn't realized how many cliche proposal moments were going to be possible. Each time she managed to knock one down, another seemed to pop up. And it wasn't like she could just change the location of their date. Not when she knew the effort Owen must have put into getting a reservation at Nobu.

But champagne? She'd read enough books, and seen enough movies to know how that could end. Same with pre-arranged desserts. Or romantic walks in parks.

Still, she felt bad as he just took her hand and turned, leading her back towards the monorail. Every time she'd tried to counter his actions, she'd been surprised when he hadn't pushed back. Just accepting what she was saying and letting her lead. She wasn't used to him being so passive. And she wasn't used to feeling like she was the one responsible for ruining their evening.

Taking a deep breath, she stopped. "What about we walk back? Around the lagoon?"

"Are you sure?" Owen asked, his voice sounding weary. "I mean, you just said that you're tired."

"The monorail's probably packed," Claire shrugged off his concern. "It's a nice night. It'll be a nice walk."

She didn't want to admit that she wasn't actually tired. Well, she was, but not in the sense of feeling sleepy. She was just tired of having spent the entire evening feeling on edge, worried he was about to ask a question she didn't want to answer.

But most of all, what she was _really_ feeling, was kind of drunk. And fresh air and a walk sounded preferable to a train ride crammed full of strangers, knowing that the noise, smells and swaying motion would increase her risk of throwing up.

They started walking around the lagoon in silence, as Owen appeared as lost in his own thoughts as she was in hers.

It wasn't until they were halfway around that she realized he wasn't touching her. She wasn't sure when he'd dropped her hand, but his were now shoved in his pockets, the dessert box hanging from his wrist, his gaze mostly focused on the ground in front of them. Normally, when they walked together, he'd either hold her hand or wrap an arm around her. Had she screwed things up more than she'd thought?

As they finally approached the bright lights of the hotel, Owen broke the silence. "Do you want me to go back to my place?"

The words caught Claire off guard; she'd been digging in her purse for her keycard, and she snapped her head up to look at him. He still had his hands shoved in his pockets and was pointedly looking anywhere but at her.

"Your place?" Claire tried to keep her voice steady. What did he mean, 'his place'? They didn't have 'her' place or 'his' place anymore. That was the point of moving in together, right? That their places became, well, _theirs_. Had something else happened tonight that she'd missed? Had he caught on to her avoidance and was now looking for a way out?

She was even more glad that she'd suggested that they walk back. At least she was feeling a tiny bit more sober than before.

"Yeah, um," Owen finally looked at her. He held her gaze for a moment and she tried desperately to read what he was thinking. He looked away, letting out a sigh. "Tonight didn't really go how I was hoping."

"I'm…" She wanted to say sorry, but she wasn't sure she really was. Was this just confirmation that Zara had been right, he was trying to propose? That she'd ruined it, and now he didn't want this, want _her_, anymore?

"I thought you'd be excited to get dressed up and go out," Owen continued. "I just… " He shook his head, gazing somewhere off in the distance for a moment before looking back at her. "You know, I've always managed to avoid Valentine's Day. Managed to be conveniently away or at work or _something_, so I wouldn't have to deal with it. But…" Claire was surprised when she realized that he was almost blushing, his gaze darting away from hers, his nerves apparent. "I _wanted_ to celebrate it with you."

"Oh," Claire said, her mind whirling.

"Our first date was such a disaster." He raised a hand to run it through his hair. "And I _know_ that most of that's on me. I just wanted to do better. To have a do-over, if you will. And since we got together, _really_ got together, we haven't actually gone on a date. Tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally do so. I mean, what better day than the most romantic one of the year?" He let out a hollow laugh. "Maybe we're just not meant to go on dates."

"Are you breaking up with me?" The words were out of Claire's mouth before she could try to reign them in. As he'd been speaking she had felt a ball of dread growing in her stomach.

"What? NO!" Owen's response was immediate, his shock and horror at the question clear. He reached for her, but dropped his hand before he made contact. Claire had to prevent herself from taking her own step back. "Why would… no, just no." He looked away again, as his hand moved down to scrub at his jaw. "We seem to do so much better without planned dates. That's all I meant."

"Oh," Claire said, not really sure she was in agreement. After all, if she hadn't been worried all evening, it probably would've gone fine. Maybe both this date _and_ their first date were actually _her_ fault. No, the first date was his, right? Trying not to feel sick at the thought of her own culpability (drinking tonight had been a really bad idea), she tried to distract herself, focusing on his earlier question."You mentioned going back to your place?"

"I wasn't sure if you wanted some space or something," he said, meeting her gaze head on. "If you'd want me to stay."

"I don't," she said, before quickly adding as he took a step back, his expression falling, "Want space, I mean." Claire looked over at the hotel, she could feel a headache building. "What I do want, is a glass of water. I definitely had too much to drink tonight."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Owen said, starting towards the building. "Don't forget we've still got our dessert to enjoy."

Right. The _pre-arranged_ dessert. Claire felt her stomach churn at the thought and she stopped walking. She'd forgotten about that. Maybe it _still_ was his plan.

"Are you okay?" Owen asked.

Claire looked up at him, swallowing heavily. "Um, yeah. I just… why did you pre-arrange dessert?" Once she'd asked the question, she started to panic, worried he'd start asking _her_ questions and she started to ramble. "You're not usually one to plan ahead. I mean, I'm still surprised you even had a reservation for tonight. That you _planned_ something."

"They had some sort of special for Valentine's Day, but you had to order it when you made the reservations," Owen replied with a shrug. "You usually like having dessert, so I figured why not. I don't remember what it is. Something heart shaped, I'm guessing." He looked down at the box he was carrying. "I guess we'll find out soon."

Claire let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. _He didn't even know what it was._ She'd been panicking over nothing. "I hope there's chocolate involved," she said as they waited for the elevator. The more she sobered up, the more stupid she felt over her actions all evening. Zara's comments had definitely got to her and she had been reading too much into everything as a result. She stretched up and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm sorry for tonight. For ruining our evening."

Owen looked at her in surprise.

"Ruining? What do you mean?" He followed her into the elevator.

"It's…" Claire bit her lip, debating if she really wanted to say anything. "Zara made a comment earlier. When I got your flowers. It just set me on edge."

"Do I want to know what she said?" Owen was looking at her cautiously now. Claire took a step back, leaning against the wall of the elevator as the doors closed.

"Um, probably not?" she grimaced, looking down at the floor.

"Okay, now I kind of _do_ want to know," Owen admitted.

"She-said-that_-_you-might-propose." Claire had to force the words out, and they came out in a rush, almost as a single word, but judging by Owen's expression and the way his eyes widened he'd understood her just fine.

"Propose?" His voice almost squeaked, and if she hadn't been feeling so on edge all evening she might have laughed. "I just wanted to have a nice date. It's only been," he rubbed his hands on his pants, "it's only been a couple of months. You weren't expecting…"

"No!" Claire's reply was immediate. "I mean, I didn't _want_ you to propose." An odd expression crossed his face at that, and she tried to clarify. "I don't mean– Not that– I mean, you're right, it's only been a couple of months. It's too soon. And it's not something we've even discussed." She looked down at the floor. "But then, all of a sudden, you arranged for dinner at a fancy restaurant. And you dressed up. And wanted to order champagne. And had dessert arranged. And then wanting to walk in the gard–"

She was cut off when Owen crossed the elevator in a single step, pulling her towards him as he dipped his head and kissed her. She responded instantly, reaching up and pulling herself closer, sinking into the kiss fully. It wasn't until the elevator dinged as they reached their floor that they pulled apart.

"I–" Owen started, before reaching for her hand and leading her out of the elevator. "I'm not against… I wasn't trying to do that tonight. Not…"

"Okay, good." Claire could feel the tension finally draining away fully. "Well," she opened their door before leading him into their place, "It's still early. I think we can still salvage our night."

She kicked off her shoes and headed for their bedroom. When she reached the doorway, she turned back, surprised to see that Owen was still standing near the entrance and hadn't followed her.

"What about–?" he looked at the box he was still holding before over at the kitchen.

"We can eat it later," she said as she started walking backwards into their room, her eyes locked on his. "You coming?"

* * *

_Thanks to everyone who has commented, favourited, and subscribed. It makes the journey so much more fulfilling to have all of you along with me._


	4. Chapter 4

_Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas / Happy Holiday. And are at least surviving family time, if not enjoying it. :P_

**Chapter 4**

"I had a meeting with Stephen today."

Owen looked up, surprised, from where he had been leaning on the railing looking down into the raptor paddock to realize that Hoskins had managed to sneak up on him. He'd been so lost in his thoughts about the raptors and his latest problems with their training that he hadn't heard Hoskins approach. Maybe it _wasn't_ just the raptors who were off their game lately.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, straightening up and pushing away from the railing. It wasn't like the raptors were out in open area anyway. Hoskins hadn't been out to visit the paddock much over the last month, and Owen was trying to ignore his gut reaction to this visit, his stomach churning uncomfortably. It was rarely a good sign when Hoskins visited in the first place, and for him to be bringing up Stephen Parker, Hoskins' boss? Owen braced himself for bad news.

"We've given you almost three months," Hoskins replied, peering carefully down into the paddock, although Owen noticed he stayed dead center in the middle of the catwalk. "We need results."

"I don't know what you want me to say." Owen pushed past Hoskins. "Well, that's not true. I know what you _want_, but I can only do so much. They make their own choices. And things aren't the same as they were. The _raptors_ aren't the same as they were. They're still mourning Delta. Charlie is still healing."

"I saw Molly's report. She said Charlie is good to go. That he's back to normal," Hoskins said, and Owen was annoyed (but unsurprised) to hear Hoskins following him.

"No, what she said was that Charlie no longer needs as frequent checkups. _She_ still has a limp. It's not clear yet if that's permanent. Only time will tell." Owen paused at the top of the stairs, looking back at Hoskins. Hoskins odd swagger had become even more pronounced as he continued to recovered from Delta's attack. "Seems like you should understand that."

"I'm fine," Hoskins shot back. "Good as new."

"Right." Owen was barely able to contain his eye roll as he headed down the stairs. Glancing at his watch, he was surprised to realize how long he'd been out there on the catwalk. Not a smart idea with the sun out in full force that day, and he knew he probably should go find some water. Now was as good a time as any for a break.

"Still, it's been three months. These raptors aren't cheap, you know. Neither are all of you," Hoskins said. Owen looked over at him to see that he was looking at all the paddock workers spread about as they walked across the yard. Hoskins looked back at Owen before adding, "We need to get back on schedule. We need to be talking about a field test."

"We can't do one here. You know that. We can't risk them getting free. Last time we got lucky. I don't think we'll be so lucky next time," Owen replied while hiding his groan. He was so sick of this conversation. Although, he knew the only way it would ever go away was once the field test happened.

"Right, so Stephen and I were talking about Sorna again. We've got all the infrastructure set up. It's just sitting there empty. It's past time we go and use it."

"No." Owen's reply was sharp, and he increased his pace slightly, ignoring the slight wheezing from Hoskins as the other man attempted to keep up.

"You do understand that you're not in a position to say no to me, right?"

And there was the nub of the problem. Owen _did _know that, but he had continued to hope that Hoskins (and Stephen, and Masrani and anyone else who could get involved in the decision) would at least take his opinion into account.

"We're going to do this," Hoskins continued as the two entered the small onsite building and started down the hall.

"I don't think it's the right time," Owen argued back weakly, by passing his office and heading for the lounge. He was starting to doubt his own words. He was no longer sure that the paddock was the best place for the raptors. But he also didn't like the idea of them being shipped to another island. And even more, he didn't like the idea of _himself_ being shipped to another island.

"If we don't take them, we're going to have to cut our losses with this project. End it all," Hoskins said after a few moments of silence.

The words didn't register with Owen at first as they entered the lounge. He pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge and gulped down half of it before it hit him. He turned to Hoskins, convinced he'd heard him wrong. "'_End it all._' What does that mean?"

Hoskins shrugged almost indifferently. "There are a few options on the table. We'd talk to Masrani and see if Jurassic World wants to take them on, make them an attraction or something. Or maybe there's another research team within InGen that could have a use for them. I know Wu and the other geeks in the lab are always looking to get their hands on the animals. Of course, they prefer to do so after they've died…"

"You're actually thinking about putting them down?" Owen tried to hide his shock, feeling a little sick at the idea.

He knew he _shouldn't_ be shocked. It was a regular part of the lifespan of animals involved in scientific research. Except for the lucky ones that got rescued and went on to live out the rest of their lives at a rescue farm. But it's not like they could just send the raptors off to any old farm.

"Don't sound so surprised," Hoskins said as he started rooting around in the cupboards, eventually finding someone's stash of granola bars and helping himself. He took a large bite, speaking even as he chewed. "They're expensive to keep. There needs to be a return on their existence, or we can't justify it."

"If you put them down, or even if Jurassic World takes them on, that's the end of my research," Owen said. He was surprised that Hoskins would be considering that. Especially now that they no longer had the Indoraptors to turn to, and new species development was on hold. "What are you going to do next?"

"We already have lots of data," Hoskins replied. "We've been thinking about a new batch."

Owen frowned. "A new batch? It'll take you years to catch up to where we are now."

"Not really," Hoskins disagreed. "Think about how much easier it would go this time around. There would be a lot fewer surprises. You already know which training methods worked and which didn't. We know how to keep them healthy. What foods to supply for correct nutrition. We even know more about how the different raptor formulas Wu created worked out. Imagine having a whole pack of Blues."

Listening as Hoskins continued to talk, Owen could tell that the other man had been thinking about this a lot. That this actually seemed to be Hoskins's preferred solution. Well, preferred if Hoskins couldn't use the raptors that already existed.

Owen wasn't sure how to react to the news. Adding more raptors seemed like a bad idea. And yet, he also knew that Hoskins was sort of right. Something had to change. But, if they moved islands, would his raptors be anymore willing to go along with the training? Alternatively, could he imagine leading a new pack? Those were questions he didn't know how to answer. And he didn't really like the answers his mind was currently offering up.

o-o-o

Claire knew something was bothering Owen. He'd been unable to sit still all evening. He'd tried watching TV for a while, but had spent the whole time flipping channels. Then he got up and paced for a bit, before sitting back down and turning on his Xbox. That had lasted all of 15 minutes before he was up and moving again, like a caged animal. She'd been trying to give him some space (and also trying to focus on her own work, as she'd been sitting on the couch herself with her laptop). But then he had started to sigh. Loudly. And frequently. And now _she_ couldn't concentrated.

"Okay, out with it," she said, closing her laptop and putting it on the coffee table, before turning in her seat to look at him. He was standing at the large floor to ceiling windows looking out over Jurassic World.

There was no response, and so she pushed up from the couch and joined him at the window. She waited a minute to see if he'd say something, or acknowledge her presence, or anything, but he didn't. Peering up at him, she could tell he was lost in thought, his brows knitted together and his jaw set tautly. Claire moved closer to his side, wrapping an arm around his waist. Automatically his arm moved around her. She expected him to just pull her into his side, but instead he turned, wrapping both his arms around her, and resting his head on top of hers, letting out another long sigh.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked, now starting to feel concerned. Had something happened with the raptors today? She hadn't heard anything when she'd checked in at the control room, but that didn't really mean anything. "What happened?"

For a long moment, Owen didn't say anything, instead just pulling her closer. She wrapped her arms around him, rubbing a soothing hand up and down his back. "Hoskins came by the paddock today," he said finally. "Wanted to talk about the field test again."

Claire waited him out, holding back from asking all the questions that had immediately sprung to mind.

"He was talking about Sorna again, which isn't a surprise," Owen said after another long pause. "But now he's also talking about just getting rid of them. Of starting over."

"Rid of them… what does that mean?" Claire didn't want to trust where her mind was going. Surely Hoskins wasn't about to just "throw out" the raptors. "Is he really thinking about putting–" she couldn't complete the sentence.

"One option, yeah," Owen admitted. She tightened her grip on him, and felt him sink into her more in response. "He also mentioned trying to sell them to Jurassic World. Let you guys take them on for an attraction or something."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Owen drew out the word on another long sigh. "Would Jurassic World consider that?"

That wasn't something Claire had ever thought about. The raptors had never before been considered for an attraction, and with good reason. Going back to the first Jurassic Park incident, the raptors have been the most deadly of the dinosaurs. Definitely more so than the T. rexes. When you took that, and combined it with their intelligence, it had never seemed like a good idea to put them anywhere near guests. But, maybe it would be different with these ones. They were trained, after all. And not just trained, but Owen had always told her that Blue was different. He had told her that he wasn't sure that Blue would be quick to kill a human that didn't deserve it. And Claire sort of believed that, after her own interactions with the raptors.

Maybe the raptors could be a good addition. The R&D was already done. They were a few years old. So much of the initial "sunk" costs had already been, well, sunk, and wouldn't be Jurassic World's responsibility. The raptors would probably be the cheapest "new" species they could ever get.

"Maybe," Claire admitted. "I mean, we need something. The raptors would probably be a good investment. We've got Paddock 11 still sitting open. And they're trained, which would be a real asset."

"They'd hate being an attraction," Owen said, pulling away from her and turning back to the window. "They don't like people they don't know."

Claire wasn't really sure how to respond to that. It wasn't something unexpected. She knew he wouldn't be excited about the idea. She reached for him, wanting to offer some more comfort, but he shied away, and she let her hands drop back to her sides.

"What if they were VIP only?" she offered up, scrambling to think of alternatives. "That would reduce how many guests would ever see them. And it wouldn't be all day long." She looked over at Owen, but he was still staring blankly out the window. She turned until she was facing it too, letting out her own sigh. "Although… that might not be enough to cover costs."

"A hundred guests or a thousand doesn't really make a difference," Owen finally said. "Most days I think they like me. Or at least tolerate me, and Barry. It's hard to accurately attribute human emotions to animals. We can't know if they are even capable of feeling the same things we do. And yet, they still try to escape. Imagine what they'd do if forced to be an attraction."

"I wish I knew what to say," Claire said, her gaze travelling over the island, which was mostly shrouded in darkness, except for the lights lining Main Street. She watched as the monorail appeared, cutting across the lagoon. When it disappeared from sight, she continued. "I wish I had a solution. That I could say we'd take them on as a research project and you could keep working with them. But, that's what InGen's for. It'll be their decision what happens."

"What about Simon?" Owen asked. "InGen belongs to him, right?"

"Sort of," Claire nodded. "But, it's not that simple. Jurassic World, InGen and Simon's other companies are all under the same umbrella of Masrani Global, but they each have their own presidents and boards for a reason. He doesn't get direct control on what happens. And he's generally been very hands off with InGen. It's Jurassic World he likes to get more involved in."

They both continued to stand there for a few minutes, before Claire spoke up again. "You mentioned starting over. Do you think he's serious this time about a new batch?"

"I do," Owen said.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"He does remember all the work it took to get your raptors to where they are now, right?" she asked. "That starting over puts you guys back at square one and pushes the field test farther away?"

"He does," Owen's voice was dripping with contempt. "I'm not sure if he doesn't care, or if he's mostly just suggesting that option as a, well, threat. Motivation for me to work harder."

"Does he not get that the raptors are making their own choices?" Claire turned to him. "From what you've told me, I don't know that you could be doing anything differently. It's up to the raptors now."

"At last _you_ get that," Owen muttered, and Claire wasn't sure if she should feel offended or not. Suddenly he turned, pacing across the apartment as if filled with frantic energy that he needed to expel immediately. "Fuck Hoskins. Fuck him. Fuck InGen. Fuck all of them," the words exploded out of him. "We wouldn't be in this position if they hadn't created the Indoraptors. And if Hoskins hadn't let the raptors out. This is all their fault. And yet, it's the raptors who are suffering."

Claire watched as he paced. She wanted to say something, to offer up some hope, but what hope was there? She also wanted to offer comfort, but was afraid he'd reject her again. While most days their relationship felt easy and right, there were other days where she felt like she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. For Owen to look at her and realize that she wasn't what he wanted.

She hated the self doubt she felt. He'd never given her any reason to expect that of him, and yet, she couldn't push the thought way. The thought that one day he'd open his eyes and realize that she wasn't enough. That she worked too much. That she was too rigid. Too controlling. Too set in her ways. That someone who brought itineraries on dates was not the right match for someone who liked to just throw caution to the wind.

She told herself that she was wrong. But it was times like this, when she didn't know what to do, when she felt at a loss on how to react, on how to be there for him, that her self doubts were the strongest. She watched silently as he paced.

Eventually, he slowed to a stop, turning back to look at her. She had never seen him look so helpless, so exposed, the sight of him bringing her thoughts to a halt.

"I can't lose them, Claire. I can't."

o-o-o

"Eli, it's so good to see you," Claire greeted, reaching out to shake his hand before gesturing him into the boardroom ahead of her. While it was only a couple of weeks ago that she'd been out to meet him and Mr. Lockwood, they apparently were eager to move fast, and had already put together an official proposal. Eli was on island for a quick visit to present it in person to her and Simon.

"Claire, it's good to see you again," Eli replied.

She followed him into the room, moving to the other side of the table so she could sit opposite him. "How's your visit been so far? Have you had a chance to see any of the dinosaurs?"

"I managed a quick stop by the T. rex," Eli nodded eagerly. "I'm hoping I'll get a chance to see a few more before I leave, but my timeline is tight. However, I'm sure I'll be back, so if not this trip then next time."

"Did you being… Maisie with you?" Claire asked, grasping for the name of Lockwood's granddaughter.

"No, not this visit. We decided it was too short to make it worthwhile. But I know she's eager to come."

Claire made a note on the pad of paper in front of her, relieved to know that she'd got the name right. She always seemed to have a good memory for names of those she worked and interacted with, but there was something about kids where the information just completely slipped her mind. She was trying to figure out what to ask him next when the door opened and Simon walked in.

Claire covered her relief by standing up quickly. "Simon, this is Eli Mills. He's here representing Benjamin Lockwood."

"Yes, yes, of course," Simon said, shaking Eli's hand before joining them around the table, the three settling back into their seats. "Claire's told me about her meeting with you and Ben a few weeks ago. How's he's doing? It's been years since I've seen him."

"He's doing okay," Eli said. "He's really looking forward to working with you, Simon, and you too, Claire. I know he's wanted to get back to doing something for the dinosaurs for years now."

"Well, we're both very interested in hearing your proposal," Claire said. "What have you come up with?"

Eli reached into the briefcase he had set onto the chair next to him and withdrew three thin booklets. He passed one to each of them, keeping the third for himself and opening it up. Claire and Simon did the same, opening theirs to the first page.

"Ben and I went back and forth on our ideas," Eli started. "While his long term goal is to help slowly shift Jurassic World away from a theme park towards a more dinosaur focused sanctuary, we know that is not something that can be done right now."

"Hammond always wanted the dinosaurs to be for everyone," Simon said. "That was his dream. Not for them to be exclusively for the rich. Hiding them away would defeat the purpose of all of this."

"I know," Eli nodded. "And Ben knows that, too. That's why," he flipped a few pages, "our proposal is to start with a research institute."

"We already have a research arm," Claire said, her brows furrowed, as she tried to find the page Eli was looking at. "InGen runs all the R&D for Jurassic World."

"But they do so with the specific purpose of further attractions," Eli said. "What we are proposing, is to fund a program that would focus on the dinosaurs that are already here. They would not be trying to create new species. Instead, they would be focused on learning what we can from those that already exist, and giving that knowledge back to the greater community. Staffed by academics from a variety of disciplines, from all around the world, they would work collaboratively on figuring out how to provide the best life for these dinosaurs."

As Claire listened to Eli speak, she was thinking back to her visit to the estate, trying to remember what he had told her there. It wasn't that she was expecting his presentation today to be a carbon copy of their earlier interaction, they wouldn't have needed this meeting if that was the case, but this felt more middle ground than she was expecting. It wasn't pushing for as much change as she thought Lockwood had wanted, but it also didn't line up with what she thought were maybe Eli's competing goals. She didn't see Eli as someone interested in pursuing research. Not without some more concrete end goal in mind.

"I don't really get how this is different than what we already do," Simon admitted, flipping through the booklet in front of him. "Our animal technicians, behaviourists, vets... well, really everyone who works here is always working in the best interest of the animals."

"Well, not exactly," Eli disagreed, and Claire watched as Simon looked up sharply. She knew Simon would be feeling offended at Eli's comment. She was too, to be honest. "At the end of the day, decisions right now have to balance shareholder profits against animal welfare. I'm not saying that the dinosaurs are treated badly. Not at all. Just that the priorities of the institute would be different."

"If Jurassic World is not profitable, these dinosaurs will cease to exist," Simon reminded him. "They are not cheap to keep fed and healthy. It's not something we can do without the money that the park brings in."

"For now, yes," Eli nodded. "But, Lockwood would like to think more long term. These animals are getting older. The T. rex must be approaching 30 now. What is the plan for them as they become, well, seniors? Elderly dinosaurs won't be as attractive to visitors. People love baby animals, but care less as they get older. And as they age, they will need more care. And I'm sure you agree with us that we don't simply want to be putting them down just because they're old."

Claire tried to keep up with what he was saying.

"Are you thinking of moving dinosaurs off of Nublar?" she asked. "We don't have space here to separate out the dinosaurs. We are already starting to feel the squeeze on available land."

"No, well, I don't think so," Eli said, equivocating. "That would be for the research institute to propose. We don't want them to start with any foregone conclusions. We want them to be seen as an unbiased not-for-profit venture that is designed to gather and share knowledge about the dinosaurs with the whole world."

"Hmm," Simon said, still flipping through the pages in front of him. "This is an interesting proposal. I'm not sure how, yet, it would fit in here, but it's something I will definitely consider."

"Our funding plan is at the end," Eli said. "Ben would commit to funding this initiative 100% for the first five years. After that, well, we have a few ideas that are laid out in there. Take a look and please reach out with any questions."

"How long are you here for?" Claire asked. "If we have questions, will you be around?"

"I have to head back first thing tomorrow morning," Eli replied, "but I'm available the rest of today."

"Perhaps we can all have dinner tonight?" Simon suggested, and Eli quickly agreed.

Claire hesitated, but then nodded as well. She'd just have to reschedule her plans with Owen.

"Excellent, I'll see you both later," Simon said as he stood up, Claire and Eli standing with him.

As Simon left the conference room, Claire pulled out her phone to check her schedule.

"Do you have some time?" Eli asked her, and she looked up surprised to see that Eli hadn't followed after Simon like she had thought.

"I'm actually late for another meeting," Claire said. She wasn't, but she only had a few minutes until her next one, and she wanted to use that time to try to reach out to Owen.

"Oh, that's too bad," Eli said with unmasked disappointment. "I was hoping maybe you'd have some time to show me around."

"Next time," Claire promised. "We'll have to make sure you have more time here. There's a lot to see."

"Yes, definitely," Eli agreed, his smile back in place. "I look forward to it."

o-o-o

Later that night, Eli was sitting at the bar staring morosely into his beer trying not to feel sorry for himself. Not that he was feeling pity, exactly. More just sheer frustration as to how the whole day and evening had gone. He'd thought after his initial meeting with Claire and Simon that it would be easy to get them on board with the proposal. Based on all the bad press and fallout from the incident the previous fall, he had been pretty sure that they would be eager for anything that could deliver good news. But over dinner he had felt put on the spot, as they both grilled him with questions about the proposal.

Maybe he should've been happy that they'd actually taken the time to read it, but he had come out there expecting this to be a cake walk. Not to be pressed on the numbers and told that he was underestimating everything by at least a factor of two. This wasn't the first proposal he'd written, and he'd been in charge of the Lockwood foundation for a long time now. He knew what he was doing. And he hated being treated like an amateur.

On top of that, he was annoyed with what felt like the over the top cheerfulness of Jurassic World. It reminded him of visiting Disney, where he had never been able to understand how everyone continued to have such large smiles plastered on their faces while waiting in line after line, for thrills that barely lasted a few minutes (and often weren't all that thrilling).

Really, this was just a glorified zoo. Sure, the animals were larger and couldn't be found at other zoos, but it was the same concept. Put them in cages, have people ooh and aw over them, and hopefully rake in the dough.

Which sort of got to the real root of his frustration.

He'd been working for Ben for almost 10 years now. He'd spent millions of dollars on one venture or another, giving to this charity and that one. When he was first hired, he hadn't thought the job would last all that long. After all, there were lots of worthwhile places to spend money, and surely he would be able to whittle away at the Lockwood fortune easily enough. But, it turned out there were reasons the rich generally remained rich — Ben's money often felt like it was growing faster than Eli could spend it.

There was a thrill the first time he put down over a hundred thousand on something. And another when he crossed into the millions. But, to his surprise, the thrills had ceased years ago. Now, he actually found himself getting annoyed by all the wealth. How come none of it ever seemed to get directed towards him.

As Ben's age and health seemed to be catching up with him more and more, Eli had been realizing the downside to his job. Sure, Ben gave him a decent salary, but there was no pension plan. And there was no future to it. What was he supposed to do next, when Ben inevitably passed away. Eli was now wondering what he had spent all of these years — these prime career-building years — doing. Sure, some of the charities he'd funded had managed to do impressive things, but what was the benefit for him? How was this going to help him in his next job, whatever it would be?

The only upside to Ben's declining health was that he was less observant with the foundation, putting more and more trust into Eli to do things right. A trust that Eli had been starting to take advantage of, although he didn't really think of it that way. He viewed it as finally getting paid at a rate he thought was more befitting of his work. A nest egg that he could use to launch himself into his next venture, when the time was right.

Finishing off his beer, he signaled to the bartender for another, taking a deep gulp as soon as it was put in front of him.

"Long day?"

Eli looked to the side to see an older heavyset man perched on the barstool next to him, a beer clutched in his hands.

"You know it," Eli nodded.

"Did you manage to ditch your family for a bit?" the man asked, before apparently taking in Eli's suit. "Or are you here on business?"

"Business," Eli confirmed. "What about you? You don't look like a tourist, but you don't look like management either. Do you work with the assets?"

"Ha," the man laughed, "not a tourist. And not a suit. And definitely not a lowly paddock tech. But, yeah, I work here."

"What do you do?" Eli asked politely, although he was mentally trying to figure out how he could get the guy to stop talking to him, preferring to just wallow alone. Maybe he should've just ordered room service.

"I oversee some of the research projects for InGen," the man replied. He held out his hand. "Vic Hoskins."

"Eli Mills," Eli replied, trying not to wince at the strength of the handshake.

"What business are you here on?" Hoskins asked, eyeing Eli with more interest.

"I run the Lockwood Foundation," Eli said. "I was meeting with Simon Masrani and Claire Dearing — do you know them? — about a proposal we have."

"Know them? Hell, yeah," Hoskins nodded. "Claire can be… well..." He looked around the room before meeting Eli's gaze again. "Let's just say she's not one of my favourite people. Then again, I don't think I'm one of hers."

Eli straightened up in his seat, curious. "Oh?"

Hoskins grimaced. "She's known to be a bit of an ice bitch," he said. "Controlling and all that." He took a gulp of his beer before continuing. "And now she's dating one of my employees, which you'd think would have relaxed her a bit. But…" He rolled his eyes. "She's… well, I shouldn't talk about it. But let's just say that in my view some of the recent problems around here can be directly laid at her feet."

"Really?" Eli asked, suddenly intrigued. Now _this_ was news. Everything he'd been able to learn about the incident in the fall (and any other prior incidents on Nublar) had seemed to paint Claire in a pretty positive light. Not perfect (but who was?), and not necessarily well-liked by employees (who seemed to view her as a bit of a control freak) but that she'd tried her best to prevent what had happened.

"She thinks she knows everything, especially now with Owen…" Hoskins trailed off, pausing to gulp down the rest of his beer before flagging the bartender for another. "But, hey, it doesn't matter. She's Jurassic World, and I'm InGen. She doesn't have control over my project. And," a bit of an evil grin crossed Hoskins face, "I might even be able to get rid of her boyfriend soon, too."

"He's not good?" Eli was surprised that this guy was apparently willing to keep on a bad employee. Surely he could've let the guy go already if he was that bad. Especially with the separation between InGen and Jurassic World. Eli was pretty sure Claire wouldn't have any control over her boyfriend's job, whoever he was. Eli turned in his seat, getting increasingly more interested in the conversation.

"Actually, he's probably the best behaviourist we've got," Hoskins admitted somewhat unwillingly. "But I liked him better before he cozied up to Claire."

"Behaviourist? What kind of work do you do with InGen? I thought their projects were just scientists in the lab? Dealing with all the DNA stuff."

"Not all of our work," Hoskins said. "We've got some other angles we're exploring." There was a pause as Hoskins seemed to be realizing that maybe he'd said to much, but Eli was hoping that he'd continue anyway. "What about you?" Hoskins finally asked. "What sort of project is Lockwood interested in? He was involved way back in the day, right? Back with Hammond?"

"He was," Eli nodded. "He's been looking for a way to get involved again. Someway to 'save' the dinosaurs. Not that they need saving. But he doesn't like, well," Eli gestured to their surroundings, "this. All of this. He thinks that the dinosaurs need to be saved from people."

"Too much money in them for that," Hoskins said with a quick shake of his head. "I mean, I can hardly believe some of the choices Simon makes here. He's already such a pushover on them. There's so much money he's essentially just choosing not to take. So many opportunities that are just brushed aside." He gave another disbelieving shake of his head. "Such a waste."

"Amen to that," Eli said, lifting up his beer in a mock toast. "Ben's all about doing good these days, and less about the return. Seems to me that you should be able to do both."

* * *

_As always, thanks for reading. If you liked this, please give it a fav or follow as that helps others find it. And, as always, I'm open to all comments, and would love to hear what you're thinking of the story so far, or any predictions you have for what's to come._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

It felt like it had been the longest day ever. Made worse by the fact that Claire had discovered some news in the morning and had been unable to find a single spare moment all day to reach out to her sister. She knew she could've sent a text message, but she didn't want to. And, to be honest, with how frantic her day had gone, she wasn't even sure she would have been able to find the time to even do that.

Now, however, as she rode up the elevator to her place (her _and Owen's_ place, she mentally corrected herself), she pulled her phone out and finally made the call.

"_Hello?_"

"Karen," Claire said, exiting the elevator and juggling her bag and phone as she grappled with her key. "I'm so glad I got a hold of you."

"_What's up?_" Karen asked. "_And can it wait? I've got dinner on._"

"No!" Claire's response was sharp. "I've been waiting to talk to you all day."

"_Really?_" Karen sounded surprised, before her voice became concerned, "_Is everything okay? Did something happen to Owen?_"

"He's fine," Claire dismissed, finally managing to let herself into her place. She kicked off her shoes and dropped her bag onto the couch before heading into the kitchen. "What I want to know, is why didn't you tell me? Why keep it a secret?"

There was a brief pause on the line.

"_Keep _what _a secret?_" Karen asked, her voice puzzled.

"His application."

"Whose _application?_"

"You don't know?" Claire paused, her hand mid-reach for a wine glass as a frown worked its way onto her face. "Really?"

"_Know what?_" Karen demanded. "_C'mon, Claire. You haven't given me any details about what I'm supposed to already know._"

"Zach!" Claire exclaimed, pulling down the wine glass. She reached for the unfinished bottle of red that was still sitting on the counter from the previous evening. Pulling out the cork she poured herself a glass before heading back into the living area and sitting down on the couch. "That he applied here to be an intern."

"_He did WHAT?_" Karen's screech was loud enough that Claire had to yank the phone away from her ear. "_You turned him down, right?_"

"Why would I do that?" Claire asked.

"_He can't go work there, not after–not after the Indoraptors and everything that happened. It's not safe, Claire,_" Karen pleaded.

"It's perfectly safe," Claire replied, rolling her eyes at her sisters dramatics. She took a sip of her wine. "I'm fine. Owen's fine. The boys are fine."

"_What about all the people who died, huh? What about them?_"

Well, Karen did have a point there, not that Claire was going to concede it. "He wouldn't be doing anything like that. Most of our interns run rides or staff concession or souvenir stands. Very few of them get within ten feet of any animal."

"_And those that do?_"

"They're working at the petting zoo," Claire said. "You know, our internships are actually really competitive. We pay a really good wage and they get their room and board covered for the time they're here. A lot of our full time staff started off as interns."

"_Are you giving it to him?_" Karen asked, her voice weary.

"It's not actually my choice," Claire replied. "I only know he applied because I was given the list of those who got sent acceptances. I was surprised that he hadn't let me know he was applying. I could've helped him out. Checked over his application."

She'd almost fallen out of her chair when she'd skimmed over the list earlier in the day, not having expected anything to jump out at her. She'd actually passed by his name at first, before doubling back in surprise. Then, she had consoled herself that Zach's name wasn't particularly unique and so it must be someone else. But… the odds that someone else had the same name _and_ the same age _and_ was attending the same college as her nephew? Yeah, odds were that it was the same person. She'd almost texted Zach to ask him what was going on but had thought her sister would know, and that before she potentially put her foot in it with Zach, she'd ask Karen. Of course… since Karen _hadn't_ known, she probably should've just gone straight to Zach. Whoops, too late now.

"_Well, I guess he didn't need that,_" Karen sighed. "_What am I supposed to do now?_"

"Do? Nothing," Claire replied. "Well, I suppose you could think about coming out for a visit this summer."

"_Claire!_"

"What do you want me to say?" Claire asked, looking up as the front door opened and Owen walked in.

"_Can you get them to retract the acceptance?_" There was hope in her sister's voice.

"What? Karen, I'm not going to do that," Claire rolled her eyes as she got up from the couch so she could give Owen a quick kiss hello.

"Hi, Karen," Owen said, putting his ear up near the phone.

"_Hey, Owen,_" Karen called back. "_Did Claire tell you the news?_"

"What news?" Owen asked, looking at Claire, while directing his comment into the phone.

"Zach got chosen for an internship this summer," Claire answered, as she switched the phone call over to speaker.

"Whoa, that's great," Owen said. "Why didn't you tell me he applied?"

"He didn't tell _any_ of us he applied," Claire grumbled. "I only know because I got the list of accepted applicants today."

"Am I missing something?" Owen asked, looking from her to the phone. "Isn't this a good thing?"

"_Good thing? Why didn't he tell me? I'm his mom!_" Karen complained. "_He's already away for college. He was supposed to come home this summer. And last time he went there… you know what happened. What if it happens again?_"

"You know it won't," Claire groaned. "We haven't even given the okay for regular development to start up again. There won't be more Indoraptors."

"_That doesn't make me feel any better,_" Karen said. "_It's not like all the other dinosaurs are safe_."

"Shouldn't you be more worried about a teenage boy with no supervision for a summer?" Owen asked, only for Claire to immediately elbow him while covering the mic on the phone.

"Owen!" she hissed, already bracing for her sister's response.

"_They are supervised, right? Right?_" Karen asked frantically. "_They're not left alone, are they?_"

"He's an adult, Kar," Claire said, watching with annoyance as Owen started laughing. "Besides, he's been unsupervised for the past year."

"_Why are you saying this to me,_" Karen moaned. "_I don't want to be thinking about any of that. He's my son._"

"He'll come out, he'll have a lot of fun, make some money doing something safe and boring, and then he'll be back there for his sophomore year," Claire said. "It's really not a big deal."

"_You'll look after him, right?_" Karen asked. "_Both of you, I mean._"

"I don't really think he'll be wanting to hang around with us," Owen replied. "How cool is it be seen with your Aunt? He'll probably want to stay as far away as he can. Won't want Claire killing his vibe."

Claire elbowed him again, giving him a "what the hell?" look, before Owen raised his hands in defeat and mouthed that he was going to shower.

"We take good care of our interns, Karen. It's why the process is competitive. He'll be fine. And I'm sure we'll see him throughout the summer. And you could too, you know. Why don't you come for another visit?" Claire suggested again, switching the phone off speaker. "It would be nice to see you again."

"_Weren't you the one who told me that summer's the worst weather?_" Karen asked.

"It is, but, that's when he'll be here. You know Gray's going to be on your case now to come out."

"_Maybe I should just send Gray out again,_" Karen said thoughtfully.

"You could," Claire agreed. "But, really, think about coming yourself. I miss you."

"_I will_," Karen agreed. "_I miss you, too. But I should go, Claire. Seems I need to give Zach a call…_"

"Okay, talk to you later."

"_Bye,_" Karen said, before quickly adding, before Claire could hang up. "_Wait, you haven't told me anything about how you're doing. How's Owen? How all that going?_"

"Phone Zach," Claire said, happy for a reasonable distraction from Karen's grilling. "We'll talk later this week, when Owen's not around."

"_Okay, fine, but that means you need to answer your phone when I call,_" Karen grumbled. "_No dodging me._"

"I promise," Claire laughed. "Besides, I need an update from you on Jake."

o-o-o

"Okay, ready?" Owen called down into the paddock, but the three raptors continued to ignore him. Charlie was scratching at the ground and Echo was staring off into their bit of jungle looking at something Owen couldn't see, while Blue was just resolutely staring straight ahead at nothing. "C'mon, girls, we've done this a thousand times before." He raised the clicker and pressed it a few times, but there was still no response.

He tried to suppress his sigh, not wanting them to know they were getting to him. Although, he didn't think they were just acting out, not anymore. It felt different when they were defying him on purpose. This appeared to be just another example of their declining energy and enthusiasm. He had thought that the farther they got from losing Delta, the more they would start to perk up again, but so far, it hadn't happened.

"How about we try something really simple to get started?" he called down. Even though they didn't react, he continued on. "Let's just try lining up. C'mon. Blue, back up a few steps. Echo, you need to move over." Owen called down instructions, pressing the clicker a few more times, but to no avail. Blue refused to move and Echo just looked at him briefly before looking away, while Charlie started to wander off.

"Okay, I get it, not today," Owen finally said. "We'll try again later. Treat?" He picked up a rat from the bucket, offering it out. Echo looked at him, so he threw it to her. She caught it, and then trotted off into the jungle with it. Charlie, having watched her sister, now looked up, and Owen tossed one to her. Blue was still refusing to look at him. "Blue, do you want a rat?"

He waited to see if she'd respond, but she didn't. Finally, Owen just picked up the bucket. If she couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge him, well, she could handle not getting a rat. He started across the catwalk, feeling his shoulders droop. How much longer was he actually going to be able to do this, if they were just going to give up?

He was almost to the side of the bridge when he heard a growl from below. Looking down into the paddock he saw that Blue was now looking up at him, her teeth bared as she let out a snarl.

"You couldn't even be bothered to look up before, you don't get a treat, Blue," Owen told her, not pausing as he continued along the outer edge.

He did, however, pause as he reached the top of the stairs for a final look into the paddock. Blue was still watching him, although no longer snarling, her head cocked. "Fine," Owen sighed, reaching into the bucket and tossing a rat in. Blue didn't catch it, letting it fall to the ground in front of her, as she kept her gaze focused on him.

"I don't know what you want!" Owen shouted down at her, feeling his control snap. "I'm trying my best here. You've got to put in some effort, too." Blue's gaze didn't waver.

Turning away, he stomped down the stairs, shoving the still half-full rat bucket at a random paddock tech as he passed by. He needed to get out of there. He just couldn't handle this today.

A couple of minutes later he was on his motorcycle, flying across the backroads on the island. If there was one thing he really enjoyed about Nublar, it was that there were so few vehicles on the roads and no speed limits — the benefit of being a private island where only employees had access to vehicles. He knew he was definitely pushing what was safe to the limit, but he just needed to get out of his head for a bit.

He spent an hour zigzagging across the island before he pulled into his old lot, almost skidding to a stop in surprise at the sight of the Mercedes parked to the side. What was Claire doing there? Climbing off his motorcycle, he swept his gaze over the lot, looking for her. A sound from his trailer caught his attention and he turned in time to see her exiting, clutching two beers.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, approaching her cautiously. While she didn't look mad, it was early afternoon and not a normal time for her to _not_ be at work. And an even less normal time for her to be holding a beer.

"Heard you had a rough session," Claire said, passing over one of the beers.

"How'd you know I'd be here?" Owen asked, curious, taking a gulp of his beer.

"I didn't," she admitted, playing with the label on hers. "I went back to our place first, but you weren't there. Barry mentioned that you like to sometimes ride your motorcycle to clear your head, and that made me think of fishing. So I thought I'd come see if you'd ended up here. I only beat you here by a few minutes."

"I'm just surprised to see you… especially during a work day," Owen admitted.

He watched as she looked out towards his dock, not meeting his gaze, before she said softly, "Oh, I don't have to stay, if you want to be alone…"

"No, stay, please," he reached for her, tugging her towards him, pulling her close for a hug. "I'm happy you're here."

"Are you sure?" Claire looked at him skeptically. "I get needing some alone time. I won't be offended if that's what you need or want."

"I'm positive," Owen replied, scrubbing a hand down his face. "I was just… I don't actually know what I was going to do here. I guess I'm still use to ending up here on days like this. But now that you're here…" He led her towards the hammock. "You know, it's been a while since we've been out here."

"It has," Claire agreed, letting go of his hand as he climbed into the hammock, before following after him. "I was a little afraid to open the fridge."

"Any new lifeforms?" Owen asked, tucking his arm under her and pulling her closer, until she was resting her head on his shoulder, curled into his side.

"Sadly, no," she laughed. "But these were the only two beers, so drink slowly."

Owen reached out and clinked his beer bottle against hers, before taking a sip. As they settled together, Owen could feel himself finally starting to fully relax, his muscles loosening. Silence, _true silence_, was hard to find anywhere on Nublar, as even outside of guest areas, the island was teeming with animals. There were always birds squawking and monkeys squealing and echoes of dinosaur roars. But his lot, isolated from the rest of the general park related traffic, was one spot where the rustle of leaves blowing in the wind and the gentle lapping of water against his small dock seemed to overpower everything else. He always felt like he could breathe easier and think deeper there.

He brushed a hand up and down Claire's arm, letting his mind wander as silence overtook them. He'd known for months now that the raptors weren't happy. And it had been clear the last few weeks that things were starting to get worse. He'd just been refusing to acknowledge it. Hoping that if he just pushed through it, everything would get better. Mainly, because he didn't want to face the alternative — that Hoskins might be right. That they needed to do something bigger, like move them to Sorna.

He was also starting to think that might be the best thing for them. Owen didn't think being turned into an attraction would improve anything. In fact, he was pretty sure it'd make everything worse. And he _really_ didn't like the idea of them being put down or a new batch of raptors being created. It was starting to feel like all roads lead to Sorna.

Which would leave him either without a job or having to move himself.

Which would mean leaving Claire.

He let out a sigh and knocked back the rest of his beer. He let the empty bottle drop onto the ground beside the hammock (he'd deal with it later), wrapping his now freed hand around Claire.

"You okay?" Claire asked softly, and he looked down to see her gazing up at him.

"I…" Owen wasn't actually sure. Was he? He pulled her even closer. "I will be." He really hoped she couldn't hear the uncertainty in his tone.

o-o-o

"Well, today's the day," Simon greeted Claire as she entered his office, waving her towards the chair across from his desk.

"It is," Claire nodded as she sat down, trying not to fidget. Over the past couple of weeks they had come to an agreement with Lockwood and Mills on their proposal for the research institute. Their lawyers had been busy writing up the final paperwork and making sure that every 'i' was dotted and 't' crossed. Today Mills was back on the island so they could collect the final signatures needed.

"I'm still amazed how quickly you were able to bring this all together," Simon said, a look of wonder on his face.

"We've got a really tight timeframe on this project," she reminded him. "It was important we moved quickly. It'll be good to make it official so we can really start to move forward."

"Claire, Claire, Claire, you need to enjoy the day," Simon shook his head, a bit of a fatherly smile on his face. "Stop focusing on all the steps still to be done, and focus on the here and now."

"I'm trying," Claire said, sitting up straighter in her seat, trying to hide her frustration. "There's just a lot of details–"

"Ah, we can worry about the details tomorrow," Simon dismissed her comments with a wave of his hand, as he leaned back in his chair, looking completely unconcerned. "Today we should be celebrating. Think of all the good press we can get with this. All the momentum we can build. This is just what we need."

"That's true," Claire agreed. She _had_ been thinking about all of that. It was why she'd ended up spending an inordinate amount of time (according to Owen) last night picking out her outfit for the day. Press releases meant photos. And photos meant obsessing over what her outfit would say. Unlike men, who could pretty much put on any old suit and hear nothing about it, there were always comments about what women wear. About the colour, or cut, or whatever detail they could obsess over.

She pulled out her phone, pulling up her notes for the afternoon. "We've got press releases already set to go, they just want to get some photographs to release with them. It was suggested that we do so out at the site for the new building."

"Sure, that sounds fine," Simon agreed easily.

"I've arranged for lunch at Winston's, followed by the photos immediately afterwards," Claire continued, scrolling through the plan on her phone, checking to see if Zara had made any recent changes.

"Do we know what Eli and Ben have planned?"

"Our marketing department has been working closely with them. Since it's pretty much just the two of them they were happy to let us take the lead on this. We'll send out a joint press release." Claire tucked away her phone, trying not to focus on the time. Where was Eli? He was late.

"Excellent," Simon said, a large grin on his face. He leaned forward. "Are we playing up the connection to Hammond? That should pull in more interest."

"It's mentioned, yes," Claire confirmed.

Before she could say any more, there was a knock at the door, before Simon's assistant opened it and poked her head in. "Mr. Mills is here."

"Send him in," Simon said as both he and Claire stood up. Simon walked around the desk to stand next to Claire, facing the door. A moment later Eli walked into the office. "Eli. Great to have you back here. Assuming you have no additional questions or concerns, I've got all the paperwork ready." Simon pointed towards a small table where there were a few stacks of paper laid out.

"Great to be back here," Eli said, shaking Simon's hand before turning to Claire. "And always nice to see you again, Claire."

"You, too," Claire said, reaching out to shake his hand. "We're excited to make this official."

"Us, too," Eli agreed with an easy smile. "Ben and I are eager to move it forward."

"Well, let's get to signing," Simon broke in, ushering the other two towards the paperwork. "Always so much lawyer speak in these. Of course, after all the back and forth, the signing always feels like it's just for show. But, nonetheless, we still need to do so."

"The last bit of paperwork always feels the least consequential," Eli agreed, the three spreading out around the small table. They shuffled through the stacks of paper as they hunted for the pages that needed to be signed. "But, at least once this is done we can move forward and start breaking ground for the development."

"Yes, yes," Simon agreed, barely looking up from where he was busy signing pages, his signature an illegible scrawl. "So many steps to get started on. I know Claire's been busy making lists."

Claire gave a tight smile when they both looked her way. _Someone_ needed to be on top of everything. It always amazed her how many people she worked with assumed that once an agreement was signed stuff would just magically happened. It never did, unless there was someone like her around, who was following up on all the needed steps. And there was a lot to do. They needed to get the building designed and built and then find and hire staff for it (not to mention figuring out where and how they would house these additional staff members). They were also heading into the green season, so Claire knew there would be inevitable weather delays as well and she'd been trying to take that into account with their timeline.

"I know we want to try to have this ready before the end of the year," she said. "Construction is always tough to do here, what with having to ship all the supplies in and work around the needs of our guests. We don't like to spoil their experience with construction noises all day, every day. So the sooner we get moving, the more likely we can meet our targets."

"And that, Claire, is why you're one of our best employees," Simon said, beaming at her. Claire quickly looked back down at the pages in front of her, not wanting them to see her eye roll. "No one like her, really. She's always had an eye for details."

"Well, I'm looking forward to working with you on this," Eli said to her, as he signed another page. "And getting to spend some more time out here. It's a beautiful island."

"It is," Claire agreed, glancing out the window. It was sunny (thankfully), which meant the view of Mt. Sibo and the park was on full display. Signing her final page, she waited for the others to finish. When they both looked up, she pasted on a big smile. "Lunch?"

o-o-o

By the time Eli was able to pull himself away from Claire and Simon, it was late into the evening. He'd been hoping for more time to himself, but after lunch there had been photos for the press release, and then various meetings to try to kick things off. He hadn't realized just how quickly things would start moving and how on top of everything Claire really was. And he couldn't decide if he liked it or not.

But, since his last visit out here, and his surprise encounter with Hoskins — someone who had a decidedly different view of Claire — he had been keeping in touch with the man. As the proposal had moved forward, and as the details were hammered out, it had been interesting to have another person who worked on Nublar to talk to, to bounce ideas off of, and to brainstorm about what else was possible.

It wasn't that Eli was against the research institute and the whole proposal. Not really. More, it was that he was finding it hard to care about any of it. The Park was worth over a billion dollars. Surely, they didn't need Ben's money to help take care of the dinosaurs. And, really, what difference was this research institute really going to do? It was just going to be more elite academics giving lofty ivy tower opinions on stuff that didn't matter to most. For all the money that was spent in and around the Park, surely there should be a way for Eli to be making some money off of all of this. That was a topic that he'd vented about to Hoskins before, and he was looking forward to getting another chance to do so tonight.

One thing that had surprised Eli about Claire (and Simon, really), was just how on the up and up they both appeared to be. In his experience, most people who scaled corporate ladders, and really even those who inherited their job/wealth, had learned how to be…well, creative with how they ran their businesses. They knew how to hire the right accountants. Or how to skirt the edge of legality while making sure their proposals were the ones selected. Yet, Eli got the feeling that neither Claire nor Simon were like that. Personally, he found it a little annoying. Although, he also knew it was those characteristics that were part of the reason why Ben had been ready to finally move forward and work with the dinosaurs again.

The entire day had felt exhausting, but he was looking forward to getting a chance to meet up with Hoskins. The last time they'd talked, Hoskins had hinted that he had a proposal that he thought Eli would be interested in, and they should talk when he was out next. Eli had been intrigued ever since.

They were meeting at the same bar they had last time, although as Eli waded through the crowd of tourists, he couldn't see Hoskins sitting at the bar. Assuming the other man was late, Eli found a seat and ordered a drink.

He was just accepting a beer when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he found Hoskins standing behind him, although the man quickly walked away. Unsure what was happening, Eli paused for a moment, but Hoskins stopped a few steps away and looked back and gave a nod in the direction he was walking. Getting the point, Eli followed after him.

Hoskins lead him over to a booth where Eli was surprised to find another man was already sitting. A man who looked entirely out of place in the bar. He was dressed in a black turtleneck and pants, and was sitting stiffly on the bench, his hands resting clasped on the tabletop.

"Have a seat," Hoskins told Eli, gesturing him into the booth, before following after him. "I wanted you to meet someone. This is Dr. Henry Wu."

"Dr. Wu? Wow," Eli immediately reached to shake the other man's hand. "I've heard so much about you over the years. You're one of the original scientists that brought the dinosaurs back."

"I am," Henry nodded curtly. "Who are you?"

"This is Eli Mills, he runs Lockwood's foundation," Hoskins said before Eli could respond. "You remember Ben, right?"

"Yes," Henry said shortly. He looked around the bar disdainfully, before returning his gaze to Hoskins. "Why am I here? Why couldn't we meet at my office?"

"I have a proposal," Hoskins said, pausing to take a gulp of his beer. "Something that I think would work to all of our benefits. Help all of us meet our needs. Eli signed some papers today with Simon and Claire to start up a new research institute on the island."

"Right, I've heard the rumours. But that doesn't have anything to do with my work. Why should I care?" Henry asked.

Eli was also unsure as to what Hoskin's was thinking. What did Eli's work have to do with Dr. Wu's? He took a sip of his beer, his gaze darting between the other two.

Hoskins leaned forward, his next words coming out in a hushed tone, even though Eli found it unlikely that anyone was interested in them or, really, could overhear them even if they were what with all the noise. "Eli and I have been talking for the last few weeks, and I believe we may have some interests that align. Interests that I also share with you, Henry."

"Stop being so damn cryptic, just say what you mean, Vic," Henry snapped. "I've got other things to be doing."

"Really? My understanding is the only thing you're lab is allowed to produce right now is essentially paperwork. Stuff your interns could do. And even the talk about starting up your work again, they don't really need _you_ for what they're going to allow. Sounds to me like it'll all be very basic, the stuff you mastered decades ago," Hoskins replied, and Eli watched as Henry seemed to stiffen even more in his seat. "I want to help solve that."

"You think _you_ can convince them to lift the freeze on our genetic research?" Henry asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but I can't see Claire listening to _you_."

"I'm moving IBRIS over to Sorna," Hoskins announced. He looked over at Eli and clarified. "Sorna is–"

"I know," Eli interrupted. His eyes darted between the two men. "Site B. I thought that island was abandoned years ago."

"It was," Hoskins said. "But we spent a lot of time and money last year getting it ready for the raptors, only for the Indoraptors to ruin everything."

"If you hadn't let the raptors–" Henry started.

"And if you hadn't created the Indoraptors," Hoskins spoke over him. "There's lots of 'blame' to go around, if we want to focus on that. But, the raptor research has stalled or they're starting to regress or something. At this point, something needs to change. And the only option at the moment is to move them to a new environment. So I'm taking them to Sorna."

"And you convinced Mr. Grady to go?" Henry looked surprised. "I would've thought he'd fight you tooth and nail on this."

"I haven't told him yet, although he knows it's coming," Hoskins said dismissively. "It's not his choice — the raptors belong to InGen."

"What does this have to do with me?" Eli asked.

"Or my research," Henry added.

"I was getting to that," Hoskins looked annoyed. He finished off his beer and looked around until he caught a waiter's eye and raised his glass. Turning back to the others, he continued. "I still want to take IBRIS to our end goal. I _know_ there are potential military applications for these raptors. Henry, I know you want to get back to doing new research. And, Eli, I know you're interested in getting a return on your investment. I think Sorna is the answer for all of us."

"I don't follow," Henry said with a frown. "How would Sorna help me?"

"Claire's become even more of a micromanager than usual, right?" Hoskins asked, and Henry nodded. "It would be good to get out from under her constant scrutiny, wouldn't it?" Henry nodded again. "Sorna, or Site B, was the original research location for Jurassic Park, right? I've been thinking it would be good to make that the case again."

"Well, technically Lockwood Estate was–" Eli started to say, before shutting up at the eye roll Hoskins gave him. He still couldn't see how any of this was going to help him. Afterall, there really wasn't anyway to turn a not-for-profit research institute into something that would funnel money his way. He'd already spent way too much time and energy trying to come up with something.

"Think about it, Henry. If you move your lab to Sorna, she can't watch everything you do. You can take your control back," Hoskins continued, his focus on Henry.

"How am I supposed to convince her of that? The labs are one of the most popular attractions at the park, although I've never understood why," Henry said. "She won't want to lose that."

"I'm sure you can come up with some compromise as to what's kept here," Hoskins brushed aside Henry's concerns. "But I think Sorna would actually be an easy sell. Think of the reduced liability for new dinosaurs to be created somewhere far away from guests. They can spend their first few months or even year on Sorna, where they can work with a behaviourist, or whatever she wants, before they ever step foot on Nublar. Which means new species development can happen without the same current concerns. And you know she'll be for that. Or Simon will. I've seen some of the reports. They need something new. These last two failures have cost the park a lot of money, and it's been impacting the guest numbers."

"How do I figure into all of this?" Eli asked again. He'd been sipping his beer as he listened, trying to understand his place in what Hoskins was proposing. What did any of this have to do with him? "How does it help me for Henry to be able to create dinosaurs again? What does this have to do with the research institute?"

"You're thinking too small," Hoskins said, turning to look at Eli, a pleased smile stretching across his face. "We're surrounded by the most profitable source of all here, the dinosaurs, but we can't do anything about it. Well, not _here_…"

"Are you suggesting we–" Eli started, but Hoskins cut him off, his gaze darting about the room before settling back on him with a look of warning.

"There's another benefit to Sorna," Hoskins said, leaning back in his seat, his posture relaxed. "Fewer people, which means fewer eyes."

* * *

_Hope everyone's New Years is starting off better than mine — I woke up with a sore throat on the first. So much for a healthier new year. :P_

_I'm (very tentatively) testing out using Tumblr. I'm akajb84 there, as akajb was taken. :( Not sure if I'll keep it up or not. But if you have any questions you've ever wanted to ask (but haven't wanted to leave in a comment) feel free to do so through there._

_As always, if you enjoyed this please drop me a quick comment below. See ya next week. :)_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Claire looked up at the knock on her door, watching as it opened and Zara poked her head in and announced, "Dr. Wu is here to see you. He doesn't have an appointment…"

"I've got a few minutes," Claire said, "send him in."

She closed her laptop and sat up straighter as Henry entered. Now _this_ was unexpected. What did he need to see her about? Over the last few months, while they'd had a few interactions, they had generally been in larger meetings focused around the Indoraptors and what had gone wrong. With no new species in development, there hadn't been much else to talk about. While they'd never had what she'd call a friendly relationship, they'd always been cordial towards each other. Well, they _had_ been, until everything with the Indominus and the Indoraptors. Since then, she was never really sure how to act around him, feeling like both of them were just pretending to be polite, hiding the animosity that now existed.

"Henry, nice to see you," she greeted him as he sat down opposite her.

"Claire," he said politely.

"To what do I owe this visit to?" she asked.

"I want to get back to actually doing my job," Henry said firmly. "And my job is to create new species, while continually improving our genetic capabilities. It's been over three months. This freeze on development is leaving me in limbo. Leaving my whole _team_ in limbo. I am going to lose scientists soon."

"You know that I can't unilaterally start up new species development," Claire replied, her eyes narrowing. What was he _really_ there to ask?

"I know that," he nodded. "And I know that InGen has been pressuring you to get going again. It's you and Simon who are the main holdouts right now. The main reason that development hasn't been lifted, even though over a month ago there was signs of movement."

Claire could feel herself bristling at his words. She wasn't sure if he was saying this to be antagonistic or not. Although, really, it was the truth. She had been pushing hard to keep the hold in place, and had so far managed to keep Simon on her side.

"The last two dinosaurs you designed were disasters, Henry," Claire reminded him. "We lost employees to both of them. We can't have that happen again. We can't risk that again. The Indoraptors got too close to guests last time around. What if we're not so lucky next time?"

"I've got a solution to that," Henry replied. "A proposal, if you will."

"Oh?" Now _that_ wasn't something Claire had been expecting.

"I'd like to move my lab to Sorna," he told her. "I know there was a lot of development done over there last year, so the basic structures are probably already complete. All we'd really need to add is a lab. If we move my research there, it would greatly reduce the liability for Jurassic World around new species development. We could design and hatch them out there. Just like I use to do back with Jurassic Park. Then, when the dinosaurs are old enough, and after we have gained a better understanding of their capabilities and how to contain them, they can be brought over here."

"Hmm," she hummed, leaning back in her chair. That actually wasn't a bad idea. And she was a little annoyed that she hadn't thought of it first. They _were_ at a premium for space. Moving the lab would free some up. Of course… guests had always seemed interested in peering into the lab. "The lab is an attraction," Claire told him. "One of the top attractions, even. If we moved you offsite we would lose that."

"Most of what the guests can see is mostly for show," Henry shrugged, seemingly prepared for that question. "Real science is boring. It moves slowly. It's doing the same experiment ten times in a row. It's taking three steps forward and then two and a half back. We can easily keep some of the set up here for guests to gawk at. But it's never been the real science that they've been viewing."

Claire considered his words for a moment.

"What does InGen think of this?" she asked.

"They're interested," he said. "But the agreement has always been to have the lab here. So we can't move it without you and Simon signing off on it."

"You really want to move to Sorna?" she looked at him skeptically. She knew Henry, like her, appreciated having access to all the high end facilities of the island. And that he, like her, lived in one of the condos in the hotel and was similarly a frequent patron of Nobu and Winston's.

"I want to get back to work," Henry corrected. "If Sorna is the only way to do so…"

"I'll think about it," Claire finally said. "It's an interesting proposal, for sure. Let me talk to a few others first and then I'll get back to you."

o-o-o

"Owen, just who I was looking for."

Owen looked up to see Hoskins standing in the doorway of his office. "Shocking that you found _me_ in _my_ office." He rolled his eyes, looking back at his laptop.

"There are days I'm pretty sure you don't know where your office is," Hoskins replied as he swaggered in and sat down in the chair opposite Owen.

"Ha, ha," Owen said sarcastically. "What are you doing here, anyway? I'm not behind on my reports right now." Which was true, he _was_ done his reports, but he was actually taking a break and playing solitaire, not that Hoskins needed to know that.

"Just came to tell you that it's been decided — we're moving the raptors to Sorna."

At that, Owen looked up from his screen, turning his attention fully to Hoskins, his heart sinking.

"I see I got your attention with that," Hoskins gloated.

"You're taking my girls?"

"They're not yours," Hoskins said with an eye roll. "But you know things have been getting worse. I've been looking over your past reports, and it was you who's suggested before that they might need a change of scenery. We've had Sorna set up for months now. So, no more delaying and stalling. I'm moving them."

"But…" Owen was at a loss for words. "Then why are you here? Besides to tell me. You could've done that with an email."

"Which you would've ignored," Hoskins replied. "However, I need an answer. I need to know if you're going to come with them. I've already talked to Barry, and he's said he's in."

Owen clamped his jaw shut. _Barry_ was going? How come his friend hadn't told him?

"I saw him while I was looking for you," Hoskins continued. "So, will you? Or should I tell Barry he'll be taking over?"

"How would that work?" Owen finally asked, his thoughts spiraling. "I mean, working on Sorna. What would that entail?"

"Moving there," Hoskins said bluntly.

"For how long?" Owen countered.

"Well, unless the raptors end up as an attraction here, indefinite," Hoskins replied. "I don't see this as a temporary thing. Jurassic World was nervous before everything happened about having the raptors here. Seems like a win-win to finally move them. Jurassic World won't have to deal with them, and the raptors get a change of scenery. And a much bigger paddock, at that. All the things that you've wanted for them."

Owen was scrambling to get his thoughts in order. He knew this day had been coming, but he had been successfully managing to not think about it. And now that it was here, he felt caught off guard. What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to leave Nublar. But he also didn't want to leave his raptors. It's not that he didn't trust Barry, but he _definitely_ didn't trust Hoskins. And Barry was only one person. He couldn't be expected to be on guard at all times against whatever Hoskins might get up to.

"What about vacation time?" Owen asked, grasping for something.

"You never use vacation time," Hoskins scoffed.

"Vacation time, general down time, whatever you want to call it," Owen said. "I don't work 24-7."

"Ha," Hoskins didn't even bother hiding his laugh.

"I have a life," Owen stated firmly.

"You mean Claire," Hoskins replied, and Owen was annoyed by the almost grin on Hoskins face. Of _course,_ this would amuse Hoskins. He didn't get along any better with Claire than he did with Owen. He was probably excited to put a wrench into their lives.

"Not just Claire," Owen said, even though, yes, that was who he was mainly thinking about. "I have friends here, too. What kind of–" he stumbled, trying to figure out the right word, "How will we stay in contact with the rest of the park?"

"We'll have internet," Hoskins said with a leer. "You can… stream what you need."

Owen didn't even bother to dignify that with a response. "I meant boats or helicopters. Surely Sorna is going to need supplies delivered regularly. You know how much the raptors eat, right?"

"There'll be a weekly supply boat," Hoskins said. "We won't have a helicopter based on Sorna, as that's too expensive to maintain. But Nublar's less than an hour away. How frequently you can get back here… well, that'll depend on how the research goes." Hoskins shrugged. "If you go, I suppose you and Barry could work out a schedule or something. I think at first we'll want everyone there for at least a few weeks, until we settle into a routine. So, are you in?"

Owen leaned back in his chair. He didn't really have a choice, did he? Gritting his teeth, he nodded.

o-o-o

"I have something I need to tell you," Owen said, pushing his spaghetti around his plate. He'd been trying to figure out the best way to bring up him moving to Sorna all afternoon and had been coming up blank. Even as they had cooked dinner together, he hadn't been able to find the words. However, now that they were nearing the end of their meal, he knew he needed to just get it over with.

"What?" Claire asked, looking at him curiously as she took a sip of her wine.

He didn't say anything, twirling spaghetti around his fork before letting his fork clatter to his plate with a sigh.

"What's going on?" Claire looked concerned now. She reached across the table. "Did something happen to the raptors? To Charlie?"

Owen felt bad for the worry he could hear in her tone. And, to be honest, a little turned on over the fact that she'd finally gone from being mostly indifferent about the animals (well, aside as seeing them as profit), to really truly caring about them (or, at the very least, his raptors). "No, they're fine. Well, as fine as they have been recently. Hoskins came by today."

"Oh no, what does he want now?" she groaned, sitting back in her seat.

"He's moving the raptors to Sorna."

"When?"

"Couple of weeks, beginning of April," Owen said. He sighed, briefly picking up his fork before putting it down again. He looked over at Claire, meeting her gaze. "He's asked me to go with them."

"Oh," she sat up straighter. He watched as she bit her lip, something he knew was one of the few ways she ever visibly showed her own nervousness. "What do you want to do?"

Sitting there, Owen was suddenly struck with the thought that he probably should've told Hoskins that he needed to think about it. That it was a big decision and that he should be bringing it up with Claire. That it wasn't just him anymore. That he was supposed to ask for and want Claire's thoughts on things like this. He wasn't used to having to take someone else's opinion into consideration. Not for personal decisions. Not even for career ones, to be honest. He couldn't remember the last time he'd ask someone else what they thought he should do.

"I–" he started, before taking a deep breath. "I told him I'd go with them."

"Oh," she repeated, her posture going rigid, hands flat on the table.

Owen watched her carefully. It felt like he could see the gears turning. After a moment she swallowed, before biting her lip again, and he could feel her pulling away, isolating herself. He reached across the table, grabbing her hand before she could pull it away.

"I'm sorry," he said, keeping his gaze on her, waiting for her to raise her eyes to his. "I didn't know what to do. I _still_ don't know what to do. Going with them means not being here with you. But staying here–"

"–Means not being with your girls," she finished softly.

"Yeah," he sighed. "But it's not permanent."

"They're going to bring the raptors back?"

"Well, no," he admitted.

"Sounds pretty permanent then," she said tightly.

"I just mean… I don't have to stay there. Not permanently," he said. "I need to go. At least to help them get settled. To see what Hoskins is really going to do with them. But…" He shrugged. "It's my job. And they're my girls."

"I could find you something here," Claire offered, her voice hopeful, although as soon as she finished, her face fell and she looked away. "But it wouldn't be the same, would it. It wouldn't compare."

"Could anything?" Owen asked. "I'll be able to come back." He gripped her hand tighter when he felt her pulling away. "Hoskins promised there's internet and that I won't be out of touch. We can talk every day."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're going to willingly talk on the phone?"

he almost laughed at her expression. "Hey, I called you when you went to California." He tugged on her hand, trying to pull out a smile. "I'll come back as often as I can. I promise. Trust me." He looked around their place, "After being stuck around Hoskins for a couple of weeks I may actually end up swimming back, I'll be so desperate to escape." He expected her to at least smile, if not laugh at that remark, and was surprised when instead she frowned. "What? What'd I say?"

"Henry came to see me today," Claire said. "I didn't connect it until just now."

"Connect what? What does he want?"

"He's asked to move his lab to Sorna. He wants to start creating again."

It was Owen's turn to respond with a surprised, "Oh."

"Yeah," she nodded. "I talked with a few people this afternoon and sent an email to Simon. InGen is already on board. Henry pointed out that most of the infrastructure work on Sorna is already done, that they'd just need to build a lab."

"The timing seems odd, right? It's not just me, is it?" Owen asked.

"Not just you," Claire agreed.

"Are you going — is the lab going to move?"

"Henry had some good arguments," she said. "That it would reduce liability to do the development away from guests. It's actually how Jurassic Park originally structured it."

"Hoskins must know about this," Owen sat back in his chair. "They're both part of InGen. No way Henry already has approval from them that Hoskins doesn't know about."

"I agree."

"What are they playing at? Why move both?" He could feel his hands clenching and forced himself to relax, only to tense up at his next thought. "Is Henry going to start developing hybrids again?"

"No!" Claire's response was sharp and immediate. "If I have my way, never. But, we do need to continue hatching more. We're still down an Apatosaurus in the Gyrosphere Valley. Not to mention that the vets are struggling to contain an outbreak across the compys. They've indicated it might be genetic." She shrugged, giving him a weak smile. "Maybe it'll be a good thing that you go. You could be my eyes on the ground there."

"It'll be like last time," Owen joked before giving her a real smile, "except nothing's fake anymore."

"Yeah," Claire gave him a half smile in return. She picked up her fork, before putting it back down and reaching for her wine glass instead.

Owen copied her, not really sure what to say, and deciding to wait her out. He had just started to eat again when she spoke up.

"You should go," Claire said. "And not because of Henry. If he ends up moving, we'll still need to build a lab before he could go anyway. But for your girls. For Blue and Echo and Charlie. And for Barry, too."

"Are you sure?" Owen asked. "I can always tell Hoskins I can't go. Or that I can't go yet."

"Yeah, I'm sure," she said. "Besides, I'll be busy with this new joint project with Eli. The time will fly by."

"Don't get sucked in too deeply," he said. "I won't be here to pull you away."

"I survived fine on my own before you," she replied. "I'll survive without you."

Owen watched as she started to eat again. He wasn't sure how to respond to that. He knew that they were both independent people. And that they both _had_ been fine on their own before. But, he also thought they were starting something better, _together_. That they both saw the benefit to no longer having to survive alone. _He_ didn't want to, not anymore. Not now that he saw how it could be different — better — with Claire.

Then again, they hadn't been together for all that long. Maybe she was still worried they were moving too fast. He was the one who had suggested they move in together, and she'd been worried then that was too fast. And then she had freaked out over Valentine's Day. While he still wasn't ready to think about marriage, he definitely wasn't thinking this was something temporary. Did she?

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?" he blinked rapidly, focusing again on Claire who was now watching him.

"Are you okay?" she repeated, before gesturing to his plate. "You're not eating."

"I'm fine, just tired." Owen picked up his fork, twirling some spaghetti onto it. "It's been a long day."

"It'll be okay," Claire said, and he looked up from his plate to see she was still watching him. "It will be."

o-o-o

A couple of days later, Claire found herself home alone. Owen was out watching a game with Barry and some others and she had begged off. She had actually been looking forward to finally having some alone time. While things had seemed fine between her and Owen, she still wasn't sure how she felt about him moving to Sorna. She felt like she needed to talk about it, and while it should probably be a conversation she had with Owen, what she really wanted to do was to run her thoughts by someone else first.

She knew, objectively, that they hadn't been together all that long, not even half a year. And that they'd been living together for barely two months now. Some days, when she'd get caught up in the date, it would feel like everything was moving too fast and she'd want to throw on the breaks. But most days, it just felt right. She didn't want to go back to living on her own. Sure, she'd survived before, after they had 'broken up' that first time, and she knew she'd survive again. She just didn't want to. She was tired of having to always make it on her own. Being with Owen was supposed to change that. It was supposed to mean that she had someone to share the burden with. She hated that he hadn't even left — and wouldn't for over a week — and yet she already missed him.

Sitting down on the couch, she pulled out her phone and called her sister. Karen had always had pretty level-headed advice, which was exactly what Claire could use. Someone to tell her she was panicking and worrying for no reason.

"_Hey, Claire? What's up?_" Karen answered after a couple of rings. "_Don't tell me something new has happened. I only _just _agreed to let Zach go._"

Claire ignored her sister's comment, unable to contain herself, blurting out: "Owen's moving to Sorna." She immediately winced at her own words. She hadn't meant to start with that. She'd wanted to ease into it.

"_Moving where?_"

Right, of course, Karen would have no idea where or what Sorna was. "Another island. It's about 80 miles away from here," Claire explained.

"_Ok. Wait, back up. Why's he moving? What's on Sorna?_"

"Nothing." Claire pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself. "It used to be a second location, years ago — like Jurassic Park years ago — where a lot of the research happened. Last year Hoskins, Owen's boss, wanted to move the raptor project there. They did some construction and were all ready to do so when the whole Indoraptor thing happened. Hoskins has been saying he's going to move the raptors for a couple of months now. I guess he's finally decided to just do it."

"_Owen can't push back?_"

"It won't work," Claire sighed. "And, anyway, the raptors haven't been doing well. Owen himself has been wondering if they need a change of scenery. This is one way, probably the only way, really, for that to happen."

"_I'm sorry._" Karen's sympathy almost broke her, and Claire curled up tighter on the couch, pulling the blanket closer. "_What does that mean for you two? How long will he be gone?_"

"Indefinite," Claire said. "He's said he'll come back as often as he can. I just don't know how often that's actually going to be. He's going to be busy. There will be a lot less people over there than there are here, so he'll have to take on more work."

There was a pause and then Karen asked, "_Could he _not _go?_"

"Only if wants to lose his job."

"_Surely there's something at Jurassic World he could do instead_."

"Nothing comparable," Claire said with a sigh.

That was something she had thought about a lot the past couple of days. She'd been wracking her brain trying to come up with _something_. But, the more she'd thought about it, the more she'd also started to feel guilty. She loved her job (most days) and she knew Owen felt the same about his. If he turned to her and asked her to move to Sorna, to give up what she was doing, what she loved, for something that couldn't compare, she knew she'd grow to resent him. So how could she turn around and ask the same of him? Ask him to give up his raptors for her?

"Besides, he loves his girls. I can't take them away from him," Claire continued. "Especially not after losing Delta."

"_That sucks,_" Karen commiserated. "_But, you know, lots of people work jobs where they're not home every night. Where they're gone for a few weeks and back for a bit and then gone again. And lots of couples make that work._"

"It's only been four months," Claire replied. "That's not all that long. What if we're not strong enough for this?"

"_You guys moved in together after barely two months,_" Karen pointed out. "_And not only that, but you're ignoring the last time you 'dated' and how long that was._"

"_Fake_ dated," Claire reminded her

"_Po-tay-to, po-tah-to,_" Karen replied and Claire could practically _hear _her sister's eyes roll. "_Besides, it's not about how long you've been together. It's more about how well you know each other. And you do. You have to trust that you know him, and that he knows you. And that you both want this. As long as you both want it, and are both willing to work for it, you'll be fine_."

"Do you really think so?" Claire asked.

"_You don't?_" Karen sounded surprised. "_This isn't like you Claire, what's really going on? What's bothering you?_"

"I don't know," Claire said with a groan. "Nothing feels right anymore."

"_Not even Owen?_" Karen's question was asked hesitantly. "_Are _you _thinking you moved too fast?_"

"No, Owen's the best thing that's happened to me," Claire countered quickly. "But just… After the whole Indoraptor thing, and going through all the fallout stuff… It's made me question what I was doing. What I _am_ doing. I'm not so sure this is the right place for me anymore. Or the right job. Or, I don't know." She groaned, raising a hand and rubbing her eyes. "Am I too young for a mid-life crisis?"

"_Are you going to quit?_"

"I–" Claire stumbled. For all the time she'd spent recently wondering if she was in the right place, the idea of leaving Nublar, leaving Jurassic World, still left her feeling sick. This was her home. Leaving felt like giving up. And, even worse, like failure. "I don't _want_ to," she finally said. "I love it here. Usually."

"_And you could love it somewhere else, too,_" Karen reminded her. "_You've been there a long time. Worked your way up. Where else is there left for you to go now? Maybe looking somewhere else is the right move._"

Claire didn't have an answer for that. She knew Karen was maybe, possibly, right. What jobs were left for her there? What other rungs could she possibly climb?

"_What else is keeping you there?_" Karen asked a minute later, as the silence stretched between them. "_Owen?_"

"Not anymore," Claire said, wincing at the bitterness she could hear in her own voice.

"_Claire…_" Karen said, drawing out her name. "_When did you find out about this? How long has it been?_"

"Two days."

"_Why didn't you call me sooner?_"

"It's only been a couple of days."

"_Yeah, but in Claire-time that's like weeks. You've probably been obsessing over this non-stop. Right?_" Karen paused, but Claire didn't say anything. "_I know I'm right. You're overreacting and overthinking this. It's going to be fine._"

"Maybe," Claire said. Hopefully her sister was right. But it was hard to believe that, _trust_ that, when she felt as worked up as she did.

"_I thought you said you had a new project that you were working on. Surely that will take up a lot of your time._"

"That's true," Claire acknowledged. "We're just finalizing the plans for the new building. We're hoping to break ground next month."

"_See? You'll be busy. The time will fly by. You said this island's nearby. If it's isolated like where you are, I bet you'll be seeing Owen more frequently than you expect. Besides, I'm sure you'll figure out ways to get over to see him, too._"

"Maybe," Claire said again, suddenly thinking about Henry's proposal. That could actually be a side benefit to moving the lab to Sorna. If it was just IBRIS out there, she wouldn't have an excuse to go visit. But the lab… she usually checked in on the lab a few times a week as it was. "Thanks, Karen."

"_No problem. You know I'm here for you,_" Karen said. She hesitated briefly before asking, "_But… how come you haven't brought any of this up with Owen?"_

"I can't do that," Claire replied immediately, feeling scandalized by the thought.

"_Relationships don't work if you can't talk to the other person,"_ Karen reminded her. "_Just look at me and Scott._"

"Owen's got so much on his plate right now. The raptors haven't been doing well. He's been stressed out. And now with the move to Sorna… I didn't want to add to it."

Which was the truth. Claire had been noticing how worn-out Owen was looking the past couple of weeks. Not only that, but she was reminded of the time she'd met him out at his old place after a particularly bad training session. It was another reason why she hadn't gone out with him tonight. She thought he could use a break of relaxing with just his friends. No one else would be bringing along a girlfriend, let alone one who was, in a way, everyone's boss.

"_You should tell him how you feel. I think it'd make you feel better if you did. And I bet you he's feeling some of the same. I doubt he's excited to be leaving you. You said he was the one who suggested moving in. That doesn't sound like someone who'd be trying to get away._" Karen, as always, was a voice of reason. And this was exactly the reason Claire had called her. If only Claire could bring herself to believe what Karen was saying.

"Unless he thinks we moved too fast. He used to live in this little trailer way away from everyone. Now he's smack in the middle of everything."

"_And yet, he made that choice. He didn't have to. He could've tried to persuade you to move out to his place. You're not giving him enough credit,_" Karen scolded her. "_Stop trying to look for faults. Enjoy what you have._"

"Because it'll be gone one day?" Claire asked without thinking.

"_No, well, hopefully not,_" Karen replied. "_Just because my marriage ended in divorce–_"

"And Uncle George's. And hasn't Kelly been divorced twice now?" Claire butted in.

"_Sure, and theirs, doesn't mean everyone's does,_" Karen said. "_Besides, looking at divorce only as a failure ignores the good that came out of the marriage. I was with Scott for 20 years, Claire. We had a lot of good times in there too. We're just not supposed to be together for the next twenty._"

Marriage had never actually been something Claire had spent all that much time thinking about. Not even as a young girl. She'd never been one for drawing her initials with her crush in a heart or writing out her name with their last name to see what it would look like. She'd always been too busy focusing on the future and what she needed to do next. When she _had_ thought about it, it had always been from more of a "if it was going to happen, it would've happened" perspective. And it hadn't. And now with Owen… well, it was only a month ago when she had thought he was going to propose and, honestly, she was no more ready to think about the topic now than she had been then. Maybe, someday. But not now.

"Are things getting better?" Claire used the opportunity to shift the conversation away from herself.

"_They are, actually_," Karen said. "_I think we're all finally settling into our new normal. And, it turns out, it may actually be possible for Scott and I to be friends, if we're not married. Not best friends, but friendly. Which is probably the best outcome I could hope for at this point._"

"And how's Jake?" Claire brought up the name of the guy Karen had begun seeing.

"_He's good,_" Karen said. "_But, we're taking things slow. I'm not ready to jump into anything. Not yet. But my circumstances are different. Don't compare me and Jake to you and Owen. You and Owen are different._"

"I really hope you're right."

"_I am._"

* * *

Next chapter we're off to Sorna. :) Well, Owen is. Claire, unfortunately, will be left behind... :(

See ya all next week. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Claire stood off to the side at the North docks. She was trying to stay out of everyone's way and to be mostly inconspicuous. While the docks were normally quiet, that morning it was a noisy affair as people hurried in all directions, barking orders and moving things around. Everyone had a role to play, except, for once, her.

She'd been trying to follow Owen's movements, but he'd disappeared from sight a while ago with Barry. She knew they were both anxious about how the raptors were going to deal with being tranqed and then waking up in a new environment. While the raptors were healthy, putting any species under always came with the risk of unexpected complications.

Because the operation (at least initially) on Sorna was going to be small, there were no plans to have a vet there full time. Not for only three dinosaurs. Claire knew that would end up changing once the lab finally got built and Henry's team moved over and eggs were once again incubating and hatching. But, for now, if something happened, it would be up to Owen and the others to keep the raptors alive long enough for a vet to be flown over.

Today, though, because of the tranq concerns, Claire knew that a vet was joining the team for the boat ride over and would stay long enough to confirm that the raptors were okay. She'd been keeping an eye out for Molly, since she knew that Molly was the vet who worked most frequently with the raptors, but had been surprised when Dr. Russel Holloway had showed up instead. Before she could ask anything, he had also disappeared quickly with Owen, Barry and the raptors.

Shifting her feet nervously, she wondered if she should even be there. Owen was clearly busy, and she did have her own work that needed to be taken care of. Maybe it would be better if she just left. As she was turning to go back to her car, Hoskins appeared at her side.

"Claire, didn't expect to see you down here this morning," Hoskins greeted her.

"Just making sure everything goes smoothly," she replied, taking an instinctive step back. Hoskins never seemed to understand the concept of personal space.

"We've got it all covered," he replied, turning to look over the scene. "I know it looks hectic, but everyone knows what they're supposed to do. Anything we miss, we'll get soon enough. There's a second supply run already planned for Wednesday."

"I was surprised to see that Dr. Holloway is going with you, not Dr. Holt," Claire said, grasping for something to say.

"Oh, well, we decided that since–"

"Claire," Owen interrupted Hoskins as he joined the two. She watched, unsurprised, as Owen barely even acknowledged Hoskins presence, his focus on her.

"Are we all set?" Hoskins asked causing both Claire and Owen to turn their attention to him.

"Yep, the raptors are on board. They're just loading the final few items," Owen replied.

"Great," Hoskins said. "Looks like we're ahead of schedule." He looked at the crowd, which was slowly dwindling, as tasks were completed. "Well, time to get on board before they leave us behind."

"Ha ha," Owen said, rolling his eyes before turning away from Hoskins and back to Claire, only for Hoskins to interrupt him.

"I mean it, Grady."

Claire had to consciously stop herself from rolling her own eyes when she saw that Hoskins was pointing a finger at Owen.

Hoskins continued, "If you don't want to be left behind, you better get on board."

"Jesus, Hoskins, you can give me two minutes to say good-bye to Claire first," Owen ground out with an annoyed look. "I'll be there."

"Whatever, just get on the boat," Hoskins said, already moving away. A couple of steps later he shouted back, "two minutes, no more."

"Why did I agree to do this again?" Owen groaned, turning to Claire.

"For your girls," Claire replied, as she hesitantly reached out for him. Now that it was happening, that he was really leaving, she was struggling to hold back her real feelings over it. To not just grab onto him and refuse to let go.

"Right," he said, looking over his shoulder at the boat.

She followed his gaze. "I'm going to miss you," she said.

"Me too," he agreed, focused back on her.

"You'll be too busy to even think about me," she disagreed, avoiding his gaze.

"Never," he shook his head. Owen raised a hand, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Grady! Time's up!"

They both turned and saw Hoskins standing at the end of the dock now, hands cupped around his mouth as he yelled at them. Claire tried not to blush as she realized that now everyone was watching them. She knew Hoskins was being a jerk on purpose. If it wasn't for the fact that she knew Sorna had been in the plans for a long time, she wouldn't have put it past Hoskins to have made the decision to move the raptors more out of spite to get back at Owen (and her) rather than because he thought it was a good business decision.

"I'm sorry," Owen said. "I wish there was another way."

"Me too," Claire agreed. "But, you need to go. I wouldn't put it past Hoskins…"

"Yeah, me either," Owen nodded. He took a deep breath, before reaching for her again, threading one hand into her hair, his other wrapping around her waist to pull her to him. Claire instantly reached up, her hands entwining around his neck as she met him halfway for a kiss.

For a minute she got lost in it, before the sounds of the wolf-whistles and Hoskins yelling penetrated. Pulling back, she buried her face against Owen's chest, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks. She could handle being the center of attention for work, but she hated when it was for anything private. She felt Owen wrapping his arms around her, hugging her to him.

"I have to go," he said softly after a moment. "I'm sorry."

"I know." She finally pulled back. "Go. Call me. Whenever you can."

"Tonight," he promised, walking backwards towards the boat, his gaze still locked on hers.

"Tonight," she nodded.

"Now, Grady!" Hoskins yelled.

Claire watched as Owen briefly closed his eyes, before he gave her one last look. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Claire watched as he turned and started jogging for the boat. She stayed in her spot, watching the boat until it finally disappeared from sight. With a sigh, she turned and headed back to her car. It was going to be a long day.

o-o-o

Standing on his brand new catwalk (well, new to him, anyway), Owen looked out over the raptor paddock. It was easily four times larger than the old one, with a lot more jungle cover for the raptors to hide away in. However, at the moment, they were lying on the ground just inside the gate, still out from the tranqs they been given for the trip over.

Similarly to their previous paddock, there was a catwalk here that circled the entire circumference. And similarly, there was a double-gated entry, with a small holding area containing three harnesses for checkups. However, besides the size, the main difference from the old paddock, was that this one contained a second gate, that when closed divided it into two separate areas: a small area by the holding pen, followed by a larger area behind.

In addition to the catwalk that surrounded the whole paddock, there were two more. The first one was directly above the second gate, so that when the gate was closed, you could still completely circle either paddock area. This allowed observers to keep an eye on both halves of the paddock. Finally, there was a single bridge that crossed over the smaller section.

At the moment, the second gate was closed so that when the raptors woke up they couldn't wander too far away before Owen, Barry and Dr. Holloway were able to check them over and confirm there were no issues. The larger section contained most of the jungle that was contained within the paddock, and it was where Owen expected the raptors would end up choosing to spend most of their time.

Owen was looking forward to being able to work more one-on-one with them going forward, now that he could actually separate them as needed. But, even more than that, he was actually feeling excited about his job again. With the larger space to work with, he could finally change up some of the drills they ran, making them more challenging. While he was sure their lack of enthusiasm and interest over the past few months was largely tied to losing Delta, he also thought they were just getting bored of the repetition and found the tasks no longer challenging.

At the sound of footsteps, Owen looked up to see that Barry was walking towards him. He waited for Barry to stop beside him, before saying, "You know, I know we helped design this, but it's still better than I thought it'd be."

"_Oui_," Barry nodded, looking out over the paddock. "It's bigger than I expected. I hope they'll be happier here."

"Me too," Owen said. "If they aren't…" he trailed off. He didn't want to think about that. Didn't want to consider that he may have moved all the way to Sorna, only for this to all end up being a waste of time.

He leaned on the railing, staring at the raptors below him. He watched as Charlie twitched, one of her arms moving like she was reaching for something, and then a snort from Echo drew his attention away, the other raptor squirming about a bit, before going still again. He hoped they woke up soon.

o-o-o

"Claire, we were just about to call you," Lowery greeted her as she stepped out of the elevator into the control room.

"Call me? Why? What happened? What's wrong?" Claire hurried over to Lowery and Vivian, her gaze jumping between them and the large monitoring screen. Nothing seemed amiss.

"Nothing's wrong," Vivian said, glaring at Lowery. "We've been monitoring the raptors today."

"Oh," Claire felt her shoulders relax marginally, still worried something else was going on. "I know they arrived earlier, I got that message."

"The raptors are awake now," Lowery supplied. "We just got confirmation that they've all been checked out by Dr. Holloway."

"Is he coming back today?" Claire asked.

"No, he's going to stay until Wednesday and hitch a ride back with the supply boat. It took longer than expected for the raptors to wake, so it was decided that the boat should head back without him. They wanted to make it back here while there was still daylight," Vivian replied.

Claire nodded. That made sense. While the islands weren't that far apart, it still took a few hours by boat. Which was just another reason she had a feeling she wasn't going to see Owen all that often. It wasn't like he could just pop over if he had a few hours on his hands. Or even a day. Boats would not be (at least not initially) travelling between the islands all that frequently.

"Have you heard from Owen?" Lowery asked.

"No, not yet," Claire said, turning her attention back to the main screen. "He'll be busy with the raptors. I'm sure I'll hear from him tonight."

"Right," Lowery said, and she saw him nodding out of the corner of her eye.

Claire was never really sure how to define her "friendship" with Lowery (did it even count as a friendship?). It seemed like it was a bit more than strictly employer/employee, but at the same time, she'd never interacted with him outside of work. Actually, she rarely interacted with _anyone_ outside of work. Suddenly, she was reminded of Karen telling her she had no friends on the island, and then Karen revising that assessment when she had started dating Owen. But with Owen gone now… was she back to just being alone?

Swallowing heavily, not wanting to get dragged down by her thoughts — not while at work — Claire tried to pick out something on the screen to inquire about. "Any issues today?" she finally asked when nothing specific jumped out.

"No, it's been a pretty lowkey day," Vivian answered. "Things have been going quite smoothly."

"That's good," Claire said, nodding slowly. Well, so much for keeping busy down there. Guess she'd have to go somewhere else. "I'll be back later to check in," she reminded them as she turned to leave.

She was a few steps away when she paused, turning back. While the control room had always monitored the raptor paddock, including getting the security feeds, they had generally ignored it, as it wasn't their primary concern. But, now that they were on Sorna, was _anyone_ monitoring what was happening outside of those physically on Sorna? It felt like something she should already know the answer to, but she didn't.

"Hey, what's the plan for Sorna?" she asked, moving back to them. "Will you two be monitoring it from here?"

"We get some data," Lowery confirmed. "But not as much as before. At least, not yet. Like, we don't have any of their security feeds or anything. I _think_ we're going to get those, eventually. But they have their own control room onsite."

"It's still barebones," Vivian added. "We do keep a radio channel open for them, in case anything comes up and we're always monitoring that. I'm sure once Dr. Wu moves there we'll be getting more access."

"Good, that's good," Claire nodded, not really feeling all that reassured. As if she hadn't already been worried enough about Owen being on Sorna with limited resources and three deadly dinosaurs, now she was realizing that she wouldn't even necessarily know when or if anything went wrong. And in that it would take time to get resources to the island should there be an emergency…

The worst part of it all, was that she knew there was nothing she could do about it. It was up to InGen to decide what kind of monitoring and access they wanted to give to Jurassic World. She pulled out her phone, but there was still no message from Owen. Tucking her phone away, she pasted on a smile and told Lowery and Vivian, "Okay, see you later," as she headed out of the control room.

o-o-o

When the raptors had finally woke up, it ended up being a long afternoon. Blue and Echo had been curious about their new paddock and were keen on exploring. Charlie, on the other hand, had been noticeably anxious over it all. She had stayed glued to her sisters' sides, following after them as they explored, but never venturing out on her own.

Owen chalked it up to the fact that the last time she'd awoken in a place she didn't recognize, she'd been at the vet center. And not only that, but she'd never seen Delta again after it. Still, it had been concerning to watch.

He and Barry had spent a long time with the raptors, wanting to make sure they were comfortable in their new space before they left them alone. Because of Charlie's nervousness, they had decided to keep the gate closed to the larger area and instead open it tomorrow. At least in the smaller section, it was easier for Charlie to keep her sisters in sight.

After letting the raptors explore their new home for a bit, they had used treats to lure them into their new harnesses so Dr. Holloway could give them a closer check up. While they'd been careful moving them, there was always a concern when any of the animals were transported, especially while unconscious, that they could end up injured.

After Dr. Holloway had given them a clean bill of heath, and the raptors had finally started to settle, Owen and Barry decided to go explore the complex for a bit before it got dark. It would also give the raptors some time to explore on their own. While they had been careful in the design of the paddock, trying to predict any potential escape routes, the real test would be now that the raptors were there.

Owen had only had a brief glimpse of the area when they arrived. From the docks, there was a short stretch of road that they had travelled to the main compound area. However, once they got there, Owen had gone immediately with the raptors to their new paddock, which was on the south side.

Now, leaving the paddock, he and Barry crossed the large open field that was situated between the paddock and most of the buildings. The only building by the paddock was a single small storage shed that Owen already knew contained a fridge (to store the raptors' food) along with the rest of the raptors' supplies.

The whole area, including the road from the docks, was surrounded by tall electric fencing. Owen had been surprised how large the area actually was, considering it had been initially created just for the raptor project. It was making him curious if InGen and Hoskins had always been planning for there to be more than just the raptors there.

At the moment, there were only three buildings. The largest building was the employee housing. It was two stories high and rather utilitarian, at least from the outside. Owen hadn't had a chance to see his quarters yet, but he wasn't all that hopeful. The other two buildings were a single story. The building beside the housing was a combined employee lounge and cafeteria/kitchen. Although, cafeteria was a bit of a misnomer right now, as there was no staff cook, and so everyone was going to have to fend for themselves. The final building was much smaller and held the few offices that were onsite. Of the 10 or so employees who were going to be staffed there from the start, most of them were security / paddock techs, and wouldn't need an office.

Now that the lab had also been approved to move to Sorna, Owen knew that construction was supposed to start next week on two more buildings — the lab building (of course) and a second housing unit, as there wasn't going to be enough space for the increase in staff. He _had_ heard that they would be getting a cook, which he had to admit he was looking forward to. It wasn't that he didn't like cooking — he didn't mind it — but he wasn't looking forward to attempting to share a kitchen with 10 others.

Owen and Barry took the chance to wander around the outside of the buildings before ducking into the office one to check out the setup. The building had been essentially evenly divided into four rooms. One had been set aside as a control room and one of the security guards was already sitting in there, monitoring the feeds. The second had been turned into a small infirmary / clinic space, stocked with medical supplies and such. The third had Hoskins's name on the door and they didn't bother looking in. And finally, the last door had both of their names. They glanced in and found a couple of desks and some shelving. Boxes containing the contents from their offices on Nublar were haphazardly stacked on the desks and chairs. They quickly agreed to tackle unpacking another day.

After leaving there, they went to see the lounge. It was a pretty depressing space, currently containing a couple of couches, a single large-screen TV (although no cable they discovered after turning it on) and what looked like an ancient foosball table. The dining area was also pretty utilitarian, simply containing a few long tables surrounded by chairs.

The kitchen ended up being the most intimidating of all the rooms. It was an industrial kitchen, designed to be able to make meals for a crowd. Which was good, since that was what it's job would eventually be, but it meant that there wasn't a simple stove and oven combination like they were used to, and the industrial sized equipment was overwhelming and confusing. There was a walk-in fridge, walk-in freezer and a large pantry, and all were well stocked. Thankfully, the coffee maker looked pretty simple and there were a couple microwaves on one counter. They may not eat well, but they'd survive.

Now that they were surrounded by food, they realized they hadn't eaten since they'd got there, and they took the time to make sandwiches. They ate them in the still empty dining room, nodding at the few other employees who started trickling in after them. They shared a chuckle when they heard everyone's exclamations of shock as they entered the kitchen, and then outright laughing as pretty much everyone copied them, returning to the dining area with something they'd managed to assemble that didn't require any actual cooking.

Eventually, once Owen and Barry had finished and quickly washed their plates and glasses (might as well start by trying to set a good example), they realized it'd been well over an hour since they'd left the raptors. They glanced over at the employee housing building before agreeing they should probably check back in on the raptors first. After all, the raptors would be wanting their dinner, too.

o-o-o

Sitting in her office, Claire stared at her laptop screen blankly, before pushing back from her desk and rubbing at her eyes. Glancing down at her watch, she was a little surprised to note that it was already after eight. She hadn't stayed at the office this late in months. Not since before she and Owen had started dating, before she'd had a compelling reason to go home early.

But, with him now on Sorna, she no longer had that motivation to leave. In fact, she'd been sort of dreading going home all day. It wasn't that she didn't want to go home alone (something she had done for years), but that she was no longer going home alone to _her_ place. Now, there were reminders of Owen everywhere. His stuff scattered about the living room. His clothes in the closet. His toiletries in the bathroom. She'd be going home to a reminder that he wasn't there.

The afternoon had gone by slowly, but she'd finally started to get sucked into her work over the course of the evening. She vaguely remembered Zara saying good night at some point and telling her not to stay too late. Picking up her phone, Claire double-checked that she hadn't missed a call from Owen, but there were no missed notifications. Sighing, she placed it back on the desk before turning back to her laptop. She could probably still do a bit more. Maybe if she timed it right, she'd be too tired by the time she got home to think, and she would be able to just go straight to sleep.

Glancing at her phone again, she wondered, not for the first time, if she should reach out to Owen, since she still hadn't heard from him. But, she didn't want to be seen as the nagging girlfriend. Or overly clingy. He said he'd call, she reminded herself. She should wait for him to do so. And he would. She was sure he wouldn't forget. Ninety-nine percent sure, anyway.

Pulling her chair closer to her desk, Claire focused back on the report she'd been reading. She'd go home when she finished this one, she decided. And if he hadn't phoned by the time she got home, maybe then she'd send him a quick text.

o-o-o

Charlie had looked relieved to see him and Barry return. Actually, they all had, although Echo and Blue had acted a bit aloof. They'd gobbled down their dinner, all of them looking up to the catwalk every few bites, as if checking to make sure that they were still there. As a result, Owen and Barry didn't end up heading to the employee housing until after 10pm, neither all that keen to leave the raptors alone.

Eventually, though, the raptors had started to settle in for the night, performing their normal nighttime routines, although slightly altered as they had to decide on a new place to sleep. Owen and Barry had waited until the three of them were curled up, and then waited them out another 30 minutes to confirm they really did appear to be asleep. And then, just to be safe, they had stopped by the control room and told the guard who'd been tasked with night duty to come wake them immediately if he noticed the raptors up and about. They didn't want to take any chances. Not on the first night.

Then, finally, Owen got a chance to see where he'd be staying. The first thing he noticed, as they entered the building, was that it didn't seem like sound-proofing had been a top concern. As they walked down the hall, they could hear bits of sound coming from a few of the rooms they past, as well as people walking on the floor above.

Frowning, Owen focused on scanning the doors, trying to figure out where he'd been placed. He considered himself somewhat lucky, when he realized that his assigned room was at the end of the hall, the last one on the right, with Barry assigned the one opposite. Pulling down the envelope taped to the door, Owen opened it to find a key and a folded up piece of paper. Ignoring the page, he pulled out the key and opened his door before waving good night to Barry who had been busy doing the same behind him. Owen headed into his room, closing the door behind him.

Stopping just inside the door he looked around. The room was pretty basic, although a bit better than he'd been bracing himself for. He was relieved to see that he had his own private bathroom with a shower. The bed looked to be only a double, but that was still better than the twin he'd been starting to worry he might find. There was a tiny closet, a dresser with a few drawers, and a table with a single chair. On the bedside table was a lamp and a basic alarm clock.

After tossing the envelope onto the table, Owen focused back on the bed where he saw that his luggage (a couple of duffle bags) had been placed there earlier and he decided that he might as well unpack. Unzipping the first bag, he quickly emptied the contents into the dresser and closet, storing the empty bag on the upper closet shelf. When he unzipped the second, he froze, before reaching into the bag.

On the top, carefully protected by one of his shirts, was a framed photo of him and Claire. Pulling it out, he realized he didn't recognize it. Well, he recognized the photo, a selfie he'd taken one day when they were hanging out in his hammock, but he couldn't recall seeing it framed at their place. A smile crossed his lips as he realized that Claire must have done so without him knowing, and then slipped it into his bag this morning before they left.

Claire! Crap. The smile slipped as he suddenly remembered that he'd told her he would phone her. He quickly pulled out his phone, checking the screen, surprised to see no missed calls or notifications, until he realized there was also no signal. Right. He needed to get on the internet. The phone showed only a couple wifi networks, but since one was named _sorna-personal-use_ he chose that one, only to be asked for a password. He was about to go ask Barry for help when he remembered the envelope from his door.

Taking the two steps over to the table, he pulled out the enclosed piece of paper and quickly skimmed it over. It gave a few details, like that laundry machines were located in room 102 (good to know), before at the bottom listing the wireless login details. He quickly got his phone onto the network, and then waited anxiously to see what he'd missed.

To his surprise, there wasn't anything from Claire, it was mostly just a bunch of email alerts. Ignoring those (as he always did), he dialed Claire's number. He hoped he wasn't too late.

While the phone rang, Owen continued to empty his bag. He was a little surprised when it kept ringing before finally switching over to voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message. After a short debate, he decided to try her again. This time, the phone was answered on the fourth ring, just before voicemail could click in again.

"'_Ello?_" Claire answered, sounding half asleep.

"Crap, I'm sorry, Claire, I didn't mean to wake you up," Owen immediately started to apologize, settling down on the edge of the bed.

"_Owen?_" Claire asked, sounding only slightly more awake.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," he apologized again. "I didn't get back to my room until now. I know I promised to call."

"_It's okay,_" Claire interrupted. "_It's good to hear your voice._"

"Yours too."

"_What time is it?_" Claire asked, although before he could answer, she continued, "_Oh wow, I must have fallen asleep at my desk. Oops._"

"You're still at work?" he frowned. Normally she'd have gone home hours ago.

"_Yeah, I was working late,_" she said. "_I didn't mean to stay _this _late though._"

He could hear her moving about now, and assumed she'd started packing up. "Well, I feel less bad for waking you now."

"_I wouldn't care either way,_" she reassured him. "_I wanted to hear from you. How was your day? How are the raptors? What's Sorna like?_"

Scooting back on the bed, Owen leaned against the headboard, stretching his legs out in front of him as he replied. "The raptors are doing okay. Charlie's a little skittish. I think she remembers waking up at the Vet Center. She's been sticking close to Blue and Echo. And they weren't all that happy when Barry and I left them to check out the place and grab dinner, so we ended up hanging around until they fell asleep. Hopefully they'll get used to the new setup fast."

"_It's a good thing you're there with them,_" Claire said. "_That they have some familiar faces around._"

"Yeah," he agreed, "but I still wish I was closer to you."

"_Me too,_" she said with a sigh.

"Where are you now?" he asked, hearing the sound of doors opening and closing.

"_Walking to my car,_" she replied, and he heard the beep of her Mercedes unlocking. "_Tell me more about the Island._"

"Well, there's about 10 of us here. Three buildings. A small office one, one with a kitchen, dining area and lounge, and the one I'm in now, which reminds me of college dorms."

"_Oh, yuck,_" Claire said instantly, and Owen could picture the look of disgust he knew would be on her face. He knew that while she tolerated his "bungalow," and even actually liked it (or the lot anyway) to a degree, it was still a little too cramped for her to ever consider it as a full time home.

"Yeah. Not only small and cramped like a dorm, but paper thin walls too." He glared at the ceiling as he listened to the person above him moving about. "I know they're going to build a second one. If you have any sway, could you see if they can make it more sound proof? And then see if I can get moved to it?"

"_I'll put in a word,_" she promised.

Suppressing a yawn, Owen got up, deciding he better keep moving before he fell asleep. He focused back on the bag that was on the bed, picking up the picture frame again. "By the way, thanks for the gift." He carefully placed the picture on the bedside table.

"_I actually got two made,_" Claire admitted. "_I've got the other in our bedroom here._"

"It's a great photo."

"_My favourite._"

He listened as he heard her turn off her car, before hearing the door open and close. "Besides the noise, the room's not as bad as I expected," he told her. "At least we have our own bathrooms."

"_What about the rest of the area?_" Claire asked and Owen could hear the noise of the hotel lobby fade away as Claire must have entered the elevator.

"The kitchen's a little intimidating," he admitted, before chuckling. "Barry and I decided we didn't want to try to figure out how to work anything, so just made sandwiches for dinner. Everyone who came in after us did essentially the same. While I'm not all that excited about Wu coming, I have to say, the idea of getting a cook is appealing."

"_How long do you think it will be before someone caves and attempts to cook because they want a hot meal?_" she asked.

"Well, there are microwaves," he replied, as he moved his toiletries into the bathroom. "I give it a few days before someone attempts the stove. And possibly weeks before the oven."

"_Maybe you need to build a fire pit,_" she suggested. "_You could roast hot dogs._" Owen could hear the short electronic beep of her keycard before a door opened, and he knew she was entering their place.

"Ooh, that's not a bad idea," he said, thinking of the big open area. "Hmm, I wonder if I could get away with that. That would also be an improvement over the lounge."

"_What's wrong with the lounge?_"

"There's nothing really there. A single TV, but no cable, so not really all that useable. A couple of couches. And an old foosball table. I bet it's mostly by design," he grumbled. "Probably Hoskins's way of forcing us to work more."

"_Ishn't Hoshkins there wish you?_" she asked, and Owen furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what she was saying.

"What are you doing?"

There was a short pause and then: "_Sorry, brushing my teeth. Isn't Hoskins there with you?_"

"He only stayed long enough to see us get the raptors into their new paddock. He's already back on Nublar."

"_Oh_," Claire replied. "_I thought he was going to be there for a few days._"

"I think he said he was coming back Wednesday. There's an office for him here, but… considering the living conditions, I'll be surprised if he spends all that much time over here." Owen paused, listening as heard the tap turn on. He could picture Claire going through her nighttime routine, washing her face and getting ready for bed. Even though they were on the phone, it made him feel lonely, knowing that he wasn't there with her. When the tap turned off, he directed the conversation back to her. "What about you? How was your day?"

"_It was good,_" she said noncommittally. "_Nothing exciting._"

"Extra work?" he asked, thinking about the fact that she'd been at work late.

"_No. Normal amount_."

"Oh. Why were you working so late?"

There was a long pause and Owen was wondering if she hadn't heard him or was choosing not to answer. He finished emptying out his toiletries while he waited.

"_Didn't want to go home_," she finally said. "_Not back to our empty place_."

"Aw, you miss me," he couldn't keep the teasing tone out of his voice.

"_Surprisingly, I've gotten used to having you around,_" Claire teased back. "_But, yeah, I do. It's different now_."

"How so?"

"_All your stuff is here. It's more obvious that you're not._" There was a pause and Owen listened as she continued to move about their place, before he finally heard the sound of sheets rustling. "_I guess I'm just… I'm use to you being the last person I talk to every night,_"

"We can still do that," he said, walking out of the bathroom and back to his bag. "Talk every evening, I mean."

"_It's fine_," she brushed his idea aside. "_I'll get used to it._"

"I mean it," Owen insisted. "I'll phone every night."

"_That could work,_" Claire agreed, although she was interrupted by a yawn.

"You should go to sleep," he said, emptying the remaining items out of the second bag. He should probably go to bed himself. Considering the raptors' behaviour, it would be good to try to be back at the paddock by first light.

"_I can talk longer,_" she protested.

"_I_ should actually probably get to sleep," he told her. "Ironically, this is one of those nights where your 5:30 alarm would actually probably be useful."

"_You need to be up that early? What for?_"

"Just thinking after the girls' behaviour today that I should probably get back there before they wake."

"_I hope things go better tomorrow,_" Claire replied, although she was interrupted by another yawn.

"Seriously, Claire, get some sleep. We'll talk more tomorrow."

"_Fine,_" she grumbled. "_Goodnight_."

A smile crossing his face at her petulant tone, his mind conjuring up an image of her snuggled under the covers of their bed, comforter pulled up to her chin. A pang of loneliness hit him, but he forced it aside. Everything was going to work out, it had to. "Goodnight, love you."

"_Love you, too._"

* * *

_Hey, thanks for reading. I hope you're enjoying this story. If you have any thoughts about it (good, bad, indifferent, anything) please drop me a comment in the box below. It helps with motivation and also makes it feel a bit less like I've been working on this for nothing._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Okay, let's try this again." Owen was standing on the catwalk staring down into the paddock, one hand raised while the other was clutching the clicker. They'd been on the island for almost two weeks now, and the raptors were finally getting used to their new place.

They were currently staring up at him, waiting for their next instruction, which already felt like heads and shoulders above what he'd been able to get them to do recently back on Nublar. It was looking promising that the move was going to pay off. Mind you, he was still sticking to simple skills they'd mastered long ago. The change in paddock still felt too fresh to throw too much at them.

It had taken the raptors longer to adjust than he'd expected. In the end, Owen and Barry had decided to keep them in the smaller area for a few days before opening up the gate to the rest of the paddock. And even now, Charlie still seemed a bit skittish.

"Ready?" Owen called down into the paddock, making sure the raptors were still looking at him. "And… follow me." Keeping his gaze on them and his hand held high, Owen walked along the perimeter of the catwalk, until they had done almost a complete lap of the smaller area. He stopped at the bucket of rats near the gate that separated them from the rest of the paddock.

He'd done all of his training sessions the past week with the gate closed, so they couldn't wander off, but today he'd left it open just to see what they'd do. To his relief, they had stuck it out and hadn't escaped, although he was pretty sure he'd seen Echo eyeing the open area a few times.

"Good job," he called down to them, reaching into the bucket for a rat. He quickly doled them out, the three raptors swallowing them in single gulps. Once they were done, he finally lowered his arm, dismissing them, not surprised when they took off through the open gate and were quickly out of sight.

Picking up the now empty bucket, he made his way back around the paddock to the stairs. After rinsing out the bucket and hanging it up, Owen looked out across the open area, debating what to do next.

Construction on the new buildings had started a couple of days ago, and there was pretty much nowhere quiet and peaceful to escape too. On top of that, the open area now housed a bunch of tents, as the construction crew needed somewhere to sleep and they'd quickly run out of rooms in the existing quarters.

Turning his back on the construction, Owen faced the perimeter fencing, staring out at the rest of the island. So far, they had yet to have any sightings or encounters with any other dinosaurs. Hoskins and Claire kept insisting that the only dinosaurs on the island were the raptors, but Owen still found it hard to believe them. The island was too big, and some of the dinosaur species, like the raptors, were good at keeping themselves hidden if they didn't want to be found. He didn't think they'd been there long enough that they could confidently say it was safe.

However, even though he wasn't convinced it was safe, he still itched to be able to escape the fencing. To go for a hike or _something._ To just get away from everyone else for ten minutes. He'd never missed his old lot as much as he did now. At this point, he was starting to think the only way he'd be able to get away from people, was when he went back to Nublar. Which would be the one time he'd actually _want_ to be around people. Well, _one_ person.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem likely that he was going to get a chance to do that anytime soon, both to his and Claire's frustration. While he appreciated their nightly phone calls, it wasn't the same. What he wouldn't give for just five minutes with her right now.

Sighing, he turned around, heading across the yard. He'd never been so on top of his paperwork in his entire life. There was so little to do on Sorna, that he'd found himself _choosing_ to finish it, because at least it passed the time. That, and when he was in his office, pretty much the only person who would bother him was Barry.

Why had he chosen to do this, again?

o-o-o

Groaning, Eli tossed his phone onto his desk and leaned back in his chair. This plan of Hoskins had seemed so simple when he'd first proposed it. It's not like it would be hard to find people who would be interested in potentially owning their own dinosaur. It felt like half the world had already stated that outright.

However, it was turning out, that even though Eli had collected what felt like a phonebook worth of contacts over the years through his work, almost every single one of them had been a no-go from the very start. He'd gone down the list, mentally crossing off almost every name: Too old, too good, too poor, too _something_. By the time he'd reached the bottom he had just two names left. And then he'd realized he needed to figure out how to bring up the whole concept without being the one to bring it up. Now _that_ had required a few days of thinking, and, he admitted, practicing in front of the mirror and writing out possible scripts (on paper, no less, so he could burn them afterwards and leave no trace). At least there was a bit of a thrill to sneaking around.

His first phone call hadn't gone the way he'd hoped, and he'd hung up disappointed and worried that this was all going to fall apart. How was he supposed to find these people? Where did one go looking for them? When he'd tried to, in a roundabout way of course, bring these questions up with Hoskins when it was first proposed, Hoskins had just waved his hand and said "everyone knows a guy who knows a guy." Eli had been worried that he was going to be one of the few who _didn't_ know a guy.

Thankfully, his second phone call had gone much better, the guy on the other end understanding what he was implying, and quickly suggesting they change their phone call to an in-person meeting. Relieved, Eli had agreed readily, and then had been a little overwhelmed when he'd shown up and not just was _that_ guy there, but three others. It turned out that they were mostly there as bodyguards, which hadn't really calmed his nerves at all (did _he_ need bodyguards?), but the meeting had gone okay, although he'd left thinking he hadn't got a firm "bite" and was going to need to keep looking. And then, a week later, he'd got an "anonymous tip" with a couple more names and numbers.

And now he had his first real "bite" and he just needed to reel him in. Get him on the hook? He didn't really know his fishing metaphors all that well. But he had one now, and he was determined not to let him go.

He just wished the guy hadn't called him an amateur, just because he'd pushed back on his request for a "sample." Like Eli was going to be able to just reach into his bag and pull out a dinosaur and hand it over. He'd struggled to contain his temper over that, pushing back until they finally agreed on doing an initial test run along with a down payment. Assuming it all went well, then the guy was willing to talk further business, and to consider helping Eli expand his network (for a finder's fee, of course).

Now, all Eli needed to do was to actually figure out how Hoskins thought they were going to carry this out. Wu hadn't even moved to the island yet. They were still weeks, if not months, away from having any "samples" to consider moving.

He was also starting to wonder if he'd moved to quickly. Maybe he should've waited. Confirmed that the other, the bigger, part of the plan was going to be possible. Maybe he was putting too much trust in a guy he barely knew. Two guys, really.

"Mr. Mills?"

Eli looked towards his doorway to see Maisie peering around the door, hanging on the frame. "What?" He winced when his question came out harsh, and repeated himself, forcing calm into his tone. "What is it?"

"Iris has been calling you. It's dinner time."

o-o-o

"You haven't mentioned Claire recently."

The comment startled Owen, who looked up from his desk to see Barry was looking at him. "So?"

"Are things okay?" Barry asked.

Owen had thought things were fine, but now he was wondering if Barry had heard something he hadn't. "Why would you ask that?"

"You used to talk about her more," Barry replied with a shrug.

Huh, Owen had never realized that. He thought he'd always done a pretty good job of leaving his relationship outside of work. Well, as much as he could, considering both he and Claire had been working on the same island and often Claire's work would impact his. "Things are fine," he finally said, when he realized Barry was still watching him. Owen focused on his laptop, but he could feel Barry's gaze still on him. After a minute, he looked up: "What?"

"Are _you_ okay?"

"What do you mean?" Owen turned his attention fully to his friend.

"Just… you've been acting a little odd the past few days. I know it can't be the girls, things have been going pretty well there."

"I'm fine," Owen tried to dismiss Barry's comments, but he knew Barry wasn't wrong.

The longer they remained on the island, the more squirrely he was starting to feel. Not seeing Claire was part of it, but at least he talked to her every day. More, it was his inability to get away from everyone, and the lack of anything to do. Back on Nublar, he'd always been able to escape back to his lot, where he could sit on his dock or in his hammock or tinker with his motorcycle while enjoying the peace and quiet. The last time he'd been cooped up around people and unable to get away was back when he'd originally enlisted with the Navy. In a way, this felt similar, as they were stuck trapped within the compound, unable to leave, and pretty much constantly under video surveillance.

He'd tried everything he could think of, and the closest he'd been able to come up with, was sitting on the catwalk at the raptor paddock, as far from the main area as possible. But, when he'd done that it hadn't taken long before the raptors had shown up, looking up at him curiously. He'd tried to shoo them away, but they'd hung around, and the intensity of their gazes eventually caused him to give up and get up.

"Anything I can do?" Barry finally asked, clearly not buying Owen's answer.

"I'm fine," Owen repeated, before redirecting the question back at Barry. "What about you? How are you doing?"

"A little stir crazy," Barry admitted. "I never thought there was much to do on Nublar, but, now that feels like paradise compared to here."

Owen leaned back in his chair. "Yeah."

"Think we'll be able to get off-island anytime soon?"

"God, I hope so," Owen replied feverently. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm almost looking forward to the increase in people. Maybe then the boat will start running daily. Or we can get a helicopter."

"What do you need a helicopter for?" Hoskins interrupted them.

Owen and Barry both turned to the doorway to see Hoskins was standing there. As he entered their office, Owen watched as he looked for somewhere to sit. Everything on the island was still barebones, and their office was no exception. There were exactly two chairs, and he and Barry were sitting in them. Hoskins perched himself on the edge of Owen's desk, picking up a semi-chewed rubber ball and toying with it. It was one of the raptors "toys," although Owen couldn't remember how it had ended up in their office.

"Maybe you can answer our question," Owen said. "What are the odds we can get back to Nublar anytime soon?"

"Soon?" Hoskins juggled the ball between his hands for a moment. "I guess that depends on your definition of soon. Construction is going well on the new buildings. We're expecting Henry and his people to arrive mid May. Probably not before then."

"That's over three weeks away," Owen replied, a frown settling over his face.

If Hoskins felt any pity over their situation, it wasn't at all apparent. "Hey, I told you that we'd need you here full time for the start. We don't have enough people for you to go off galavanting just so you can get some time with your girlfriend." The final two words were said with such disdain that Owen had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at Hoskins' pettiness.

"And yet, somehow _you_ are able to go back and forth just fine," Owen grumbled instead, choosing to ignore the dig.

"Perks of being the boss," Hoskins replied, standing up and placing the ball back on the desk. He looked at Owen, judgement evident in his gaze, "But, not everyone is meant to be one." He started to leave before pausing in the doorway, turning back to look at them. "Oh, I forgot what I came here to tell you. Parker's coming for a visit next week. He wants to see the raptors in a _real_ field test."

"What does that mean?" Barry asked.

"Time to let them loose. Get them out of the paddock," Hoskins replied.

"Are you insane?" Owen's jaw dropped.

"We've got the whole island at our disposal. It's time we used it," Hoskins shrugged, looking unconcerned. "You knew that was the plan."

This time Owen couldn't prevent his jaw from dropping, and a quick glance over at Barry showed the other man looked equally bewildered by Hoskins' comments.

"No, we didn't," Owen argued. "Not to let them loose on the island. The plan was the bigger paddock."

"A paddock still has walls," Hoskins replied. "Need to give them more freedom and see how they behave. It'll be a test of your training… will they come back willingly or not? And if not… well, they've got trackers and we've got tranq guns."

"Your back up plan is that we go hunt the raptors," Barry said slowly.

"I wouldn't call it _hunting_, exactly," Hoskins said. "That's Plan B, anyway. We've got limited time to use the island. Need to do it before Henry and the rest get here."

"Why?" Owen asked, his eyes narrowed. Half the reason he was going crazy was because they were cut off from the rest of the island. What difference would it make if Wu was there or not? Especially if this "field test" would take place on the other side of the perimeter fencing.

"You know people, they get all weird about stuff like this," Hoskins replied. "Easier to do so without all the extra eyes around."

"Is this test approved by InGen?" Barry asked, sharing a look with Owen. Normally, Hoskins was all for as many eyes as he could get on what he was doing. For him to _not_ want extra eyes was concerning.

"I just told you Parker is coming out for it," Hoskins groaned. "Of course, it's approved."

"Do you have a test plan?" Owen asked. For all the conversations he'd had over the past months and, really, _years _with Hoskins, they'd never actually managed to come to an agreement on _what_ they'd have the raptors do.

"We're thinking just a basic search task, like the one you do all the time. What's it called? Hide-and-seek?" Hoskins said. "Anyway, we'll hide something out in the jungle, and then see if they can track it down and bring it back."

Okay, at least that was something Owen and Barry had worked with the raptors on a fair amount. It wouldn't be an out of the ordinary task for them to do. Of course, there were a lot fewer distractions in their paddock to prevent them from deciding it wasn't worth completing, and they'd never had to worry about whether the raptors would return. Also, they could follow the raptors movements easily within the paddock.

"The island's a lot bigger than the paddock," Owen said. "How are we going to track their progress, make sure they're still on task?"

"We've got the trackers in them," Hoskins repeated his earlier comment. "And, we'll have a helicopter. Although, I'm not sure if we'll take it out during or not. The jungle can be pretty dense, so we probably wouldn't be able to visually follow them."

"What are they going to find?" Barry asked.

"That's up to you guys," Hoskins said, pushing away from the door frame. "If you need anything for the test, you better let me know soon so I can make sure we can get it here in time."

o-o-o

**Have I told you today how much I love you? **Owen sent off the text, before placing his phone back into his pocket.

He'd been finishing up dinner when one of the paddock techs had excitedly entered the dining room looking for him, telling him to come quick. Now he was standing in the lounge staring at a brand new Xbox, a stack of games, and a stack of movies. He'd been about to ask where it came from, when the tech had shoved an envelope at him.

His name was scrawled across the front and he'd immediately recognized the handwriting. Flipping it over, Owen had been relieved to realize it was still sealed, and he'd quickly opened it up.

_Now you have one less thing to complain about. Wish I could've delivered it in person. _

_Love,_

_Claire _

_PS - Zach helped with the selection. Let me know if you have any additional requests. _

His phone was buzzing in his pocket and Owen pulled it back out. **I'm guessing that means it arrived. You like it? **

**Like it? Love it! **Owen looked around the room, more people filing in to see what the fuss was over. A few were sorting through the games and movies. **Everyone does.**

**Glad I could help.** There were blinking dots, so Owen waited for the rest of her message. **I've got a dinner meeting now. Talk later?**

**Call me when you're free.** Putting his phone away again, he joined the others gathered near the TV, helping them hook up the Xbox. Picking up a controller as they turned it on, he looked around. "Who thinks they can beat me?"

o-o-o

Sitting at her kitchen table, dinner in front of her and Owen on speaker, Claire could almost pretend that he was sitting right there with her. She knew he was doing essentially the same thing, having told her he'd escaped to his office with his dinner so no one would bug him.

When he'd asked what she was eating, she'd almost lied, before confessing that she'd picked up tacos from Margaritaville on her way home. He'd fallen silent, and she'd felt a little bad. He was still stuck with an industrial kitchen where they were still struggling to figure out how to turn on the stove so they could at least boil a pot of water and she had all the restaurants of Nublar at her fingertips. She wished she could send him a pizza or something.

"How was your training today?" Claire asked, picking up her second taco and taking a bite.

"_I attempted my first one-on-one session with Blue,_" Owen replied.

"How'd it go? Was she into it?"

"_Better than I expected_," he admitted. "_I thought there might be problems separating her, but she came pretty willingly. Well, I mean, Barry–_" Owen was cut off as Claire's phone beeped with an incoming message.

"Hold that thought," she told him, picking up her phone to see what the message was. **911 - mosasaur**. "What the hell?" she muttered. She couldn't remember the last time they'd had any issues with the mosasaur. She got up and moved to her window overlooking the lagoon. There were a ton of lights gathered near the edge over by Main Street. "Fuck."

"_What's wrong?_" Owen asked, alarmed.

"Something's happened," Claire replied, hunting down her keys and grabbing a jacket. She switched the phone off speaker, tucking it between her head and shoulder as she pulled on her shoes. "The mosasaur…"

"_What about it?_" Owen's tone was more curious now.

"I don't know yet. I've got to go. I'll talk to you later," she said in a rush, pulling open the door. "I'm sorry."

"_It's okay,_" he replied.

"Bye," Claire said, barely even hearing Owen's response as she was already hanging up the phone. As she paced in front of the elevator, she called the control room. "What's going on?" she barked out, as soon as her call was answered. "What happened?"

"_Um,_" the person who answered stammered. "_Who is this?_"

Great, that meant Lowery and Vivian must be off-duty. "Claire Dearing. What happened with the mosasaur?" Claire said, trying to tamp down her frustration. It was not helped by the fact the elevator was taking forever to arrive. She looked down the hall towards the stairwell, mentally debating if it would be faster when finally the doors slid open in front of her.

"_Oh, the mosasaur. I don't really know…_"

"Nevermind," she said, already hanging up, knowing it was going to be useless. She scanned her contacts until she found Lowery and called him directly. "Lowery? I need you back at control," she said, the moment the phone was answered.

"_Claire?_" Lowery sounded confused.

"Control. Now," Claire repeated as she stepped out of the elevator and headed for her car. "Something happened with the mosasaur and whoever is at control is… less than competent."

"_The mosasaur?_" Lowery repeated. "_What happened?_"

"If I knew, I wouldn't need you there," she groaned. "I'm on my way to Main Street now. Please, I need someone capable in control right now."

"_Yeah, sure, no problem,_" he replied. "_Give me twenty._"

"You've got ten," Claire said, before she hung up, opening her car door. She debated calling ACU, but decided it'd be easier to just focus on getting there as fast as she could.

Five minutes later she was exiting her car and pushing her way through the crowd, trying to get to the front where she could see ACU had gathered. She was trying to ignore all the people talking around her, mainly because she was struggling to believe what they were saying. "_And then it just leapt right out of the water!_" "_Did you see it smash through the guard rail? It was like it wasn't even there!_" "_I guess it really wanted a hot dog._"

Finally making her way to the front, Claire felt her jaw drop open in shock. There _was_ an overturned hot dog cart, but her attention was focused on the large hole in the guard rail that surrounded the lagoon, the metal bent and twisted, lying across the ground. The one thing she _didn't_ see, was the mosasaur. She gave a wary look towards the lagoon, before heading towards Commander Austin of the ACU.

"What happened?" Claire demanded, as soon as she was close to him. He'd been busy chatting with a couple of others, but he turned his attention to her.

"She made a break for freedom," Austin replied.

"But… why?" she asked, her voice stunned.

"That's not a question I can answer," he shrugged.

"Where is she now?"

"Where she's supposed to be," he pointed behind him to the lagoon. "We got the call 15 minutes ago. We were on site within three, but she'd already slipped back into the water."

"What's the plan?" Claire asked, looking around at the still growing crowd.

"We're trying to figure that out," Austin followed her gaze.

"Was anyone hurt?" She turned back to him, having finally spotted one of the doctors from the infirmary off to the side.

"No, not really."

"Not really? What does that mean?"

"The guy who was running the hot dog stand tripped when he was backing up in surprise and got a little banged up," Austin replied. "But it's mostly just a few scratches and probably some bruises. Maybe a broken arm. Nothing serious."

"Nothing serious…" Claire repeated back slowly, closing her eyes for a moment, and taking a deep breath.

Is that where they were now? A broken arm wasn't serious, because it wasn't that the mosasaur had _ate_ someone? What was she still doing here? When she'd first come to Nublar, back as an intern before the park had officially opened, she'd been so idealistic about the whole concept. Even though she had known that many of the dinosaurs were carnivores who only saw their next meal when they looked at her, she'd been too enthralled by what felt like the magic of the place. After she'd moved permanently to the island, and then started more aggressively climbing the corporate ladder, her view of the animals had changed. She still saw them as animals — as _living creatures_, regardless to what others liked to think — but they started to lose some of their lustre.

The injuries always seemed relatively minor at first. A paddock tech needing few stitches here, another receiving a broken arm and the occasional concussion. With the sheer size of the dinosaurs, it was easy to dismiss the injuries. Of _course,_ there would be accidents. She'd been able to brush it all aside for a long time. It wasn't until the Indominus that she'd really started to second-guess what was happening. And, even more so, once she'd started to spend more time with Owen, and she'd started to understand more about the role of animal behaviourists and the needs of the dinosaurs. That not only were they living creatures, but that they had minds of their own. They made their own decisions. They could choose to be peaceful, and they could choose to be vindictive. And how everything — from how the paddocks techs treated them, to the design of their paddocks to access to food and other animals for socialization — all played a part in the animals behaviour.

Her increased understanding of the dinosaurs had led her to make more changes over the past couple of years, increasing the budget allocated to enrichment activities and prioritizing paddock changes that had been languishing for years. Claire had even started to understand Simon's point that you could see their happiness in their eyes.

However, after the Indoraptors she'd realized that even if they did everything right. If they gave them a behaviourist, if they socialized them, if they did everything they could, there would never be a guarantee that the animals would be able to override their base instincts. That some of these creations would always be monsters. And that you would never know what would finally set one off.

"What do you want us to do?" Austin asked, and Claire focused back on him. Right. She needed to get back in control.

"We need a vet — preferably whoever works most closely with the mosasaur," Claire started ticking off her list. "We need engineering to get out here and take a look at the fence. And maintenance to clean this area up, and," she looked back out at the crowd, "we need that crowd moved back. They're still way too close."

"Sure," Austin agreed easily, moving towards a couple of his men and barking out orders.

She watched him for a minute before pulling out her phone and calling the control room again. Thankfully, this time it was Lowery who answered.

"_I think you scared the poor kid,_" Lowery informed her. "_He refused to pick up the phone when it rang_."

"If he's that scared, we can assign him somewhere else," Claire said. "Can't be in control if you can't act under pressure. What do you have for me?"

"_You're on site, right?"_ Lowery asked, although he didn't wait for her to respond. "_It's not clear why, but just after 7:20, the mosasaur leapt out of the lagoon and landed half onto Main Street. The area wasn't busy, so the main casualty appears to be the hot dog stand. We've got it on video, by the way. It looks very 'Free Willy,' minus the success."_

"Lowery…" Claire groaned.

"_What do you need to know?_"

"When it jumped… how far out did it get? How much of the road do we need to block off?"

"_It didn't actually get very far. Maybe six feet?_"

Claire rolled her eyes at Lowery's disappointed tone. That was still plenty far, considering that the street along the lagoon was only so wide. This was going to be a problem. How were they going to keep it from attempting to escape again? And _was_ it an escape? Or had the mosasaur jumped for another reason? And why _now_? Why not yesterday or two months ago?

"Can you get together all the footage? Every angle we've got. Starting from maybe five minutes before. We need to figure out _why_ — what triggered her."

"_Sure thing. You know… while it wasn't busy, there were still a number of people around, and most of those tourists have cameras…_"

"Good point," Claire said, making a note to get someone to track those down. Although, she looked around the area again, they could probably just go on social media and get most of it. "This is going to be a long night." She thought back briefly to her abandoned dinner. And to Owen. This was not how her night was supposed to go.

"_Hey, at least it didn't land on someone,_" Lowery offered up, and while Claire wanted to be annoyed at the comment, and wanted to tell him it was inappropriate, she couldn't bring herself to. It really was the only silver lining right now.

"Okay. I need to deal with a few things here. Keep me posted if you find anything," Claire told him before hanging up. She was just about to slid it into her pocket when it buzzed from an incoming text message. She looked down, expecting to see something from Owen. It wasn't. It was from Karen.

**What? A dinosaur tried to escape? You said that Zach would be safe there!**

* * *

Next chapter is a big one — field test and Zach arrives! Yay!

Also, I'm currently writing chapter 15 and the other day came up with a big twist to my original plan. So I've been reworking the whole final third/half of the fic. But, I'm really excited with the twist and hope you will like it. Can't wait for you to read it. :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Checking her watch as she got out of her car, Claire was happy to note that she was early. She walked slowly down to the main ferry dock, taking the opportunity to look it over. She never seemed to end up out there, considering most of her trips off island usually involved a helicopter. As she'd become busier over the years, she'd rarely had the luxury of having enough time to take the ferry, although she preferred it.

Starting down the path, she saw an employee standing off to the side underneath a large sign indicating it was the meeting point for the arriving summer interns. Knowing that Zach would also be looking for that sign when he arrived, Claire decided to wait by it. After the mosasaurs' unexpected leap the previous week — a leap they were still baffled over why — she'd spent more time than she'd wanted to (or could afford) fielding calls and texts from Karen and Zach. She'd been helping Zach convince his mom that he should still come. Part of getting Karen to cave was Claire's promise to "be accessible," and that started with being there to greet her nephew on his arrival.

"Ms. Dearing, I didn't expect to see you down here," the employee — Brenda Jameson — greeted her, looking a little startled and nervous about Claire's arrival. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, everything's fine," Claire quickly reassured her. "I'm just here because I know one of the arriving interns."

"You do?" Brenda sounded surprised, and Claire watched her skim over the clipboard in front of her, clearly trying to identify _who_ Claire would know on the list.

"My nephew," Claire admitted, turning at the sound of the horn to see the ferry was approaching the dock.

"I didn't know your nephew was coming. You should've said something," Brenda replied, turning with Claire to face the ferry.

"Neither did I, at first," Claire said chagrined, suddenly realizing that there was one thing she hadn't thought of when she'd finally agreed to Karen's demand that she meet Zach on his arrival. He'd applied without telling her, and when she'd seen his application after he'd been accepted, he'd given no indication on it that he knew anyone on the island. Clearly, he had wanted to get his spot on his own merit, and here she was singling him out on his first day. Whoops. "He didn't tell any of us he applied. I only found out after I saw the list of accepted interns," she said, looking over at Brenda. "I wouldn't even be here right now, but I promised my sister…"

"Overprotective mom," Brenda nodded. "We get a lot of those." She looked to be about to say something else, but suddenly they were overrun, as people started streaming off the ferry and a number of college students headed their way.

Claire quickly stepped off to the side, hoping to mostly blend in to the surroundings. She didn't want to have to attempt to answer any questions by those arriving. She watched as the crowd grew around Brenda, and how easily Brenda was able to take control, getting names and organizing those in front of her. She was so focused, that she didn't even realize when Zach actually showed up, until he spoke up. "What are you doing here?"

She looked to her side to see him standing beside her, but not too close. She remembered that body language from her own teen years. "I promised your mom I'd come down to make sure you arrived safely."

"You know, she's already phoned me once and texted me like five times," Zach groaned. "What did she think was going to happen between the airport and getting here? I don't feel like I've even been on my own for two minutes yet."

Claire tried not to laugh at the look of almost utter defeat on Zach's face, before turning to face him. "Well, at least you're here," she said. "And I'm happy that you are. It's really good to see you." As she said the words, she realized just how true they were. She hadn't been dreading his arrival the way she had the first time Karen had sent Zach and Gray her way. This time, she'd actually been looking forward to seeing him. "Still wish you had told me you were applying."

"Yeah, well," Zach looked a bit embarrassed. "I didn't really think I had a shot. And I didn't want to get in only because, well…" He looked at her, his gaze suddenly pleading. "I'm not like Gray, you know. I don't usually get these things. But, I just wanted…"

Claire studied him closely for a couple of moments, before saying, "I get it and I understand." She took a step towards him before pausing. "Can I at least give you a hug?"

"Fine," Zach agreed, stepping towards her and hugging her quickly before pulling back. He looked over his shoulder at the crowd around Brenda who were, thankfully, not really paying any attention to the two. Then, he looked around Claire, as if she might be hiding something. "Where's Owen?"

"Still stuck on Sorna," Claire replied, a frown crossing her face momentarily at the reminder. "He did want me to pass on that they're really enjoying the Xbox and that he's looking forward to seeing you whenever he can finally get back here."

"He hasn't come back yet?" Zach looked a little surprised at that news. "I thought you said he went over at the start of April. It's been, what, a month?"

"He did and it has," she nodded. "Things are hectic and there's still not very many people over there. And transportation between the two islands is relatively rare. But," she forced a cheerful smile, "I'm hopeful he'll get back here later this month. I know he'd like to see you."

"So," Zach said, looking again at the crowd behind him, the rest of the docks starting to clear out. "I know I didn't want to get here based on knowing you, but… now that I'm here? Any chance you can make sure I get a cool job for the summer? I had been hoping to work with the raptors before they moved. But, maybe the T. rex?"

"Ha ha," Claire said with a roll of her eyes. "Your mom would kill me. But, I don't get involved with any of that anyway. That's up to Brenda and her team."

"Damn," Zach feigned disappointment.

Claire looked over to see Brenda glancing in her direction. "You better get over there. And I should probably get back to work."

"Yeah, you're right," Zach replied. He took a step away before turning back. "Aunt Claire? Thanks for being here. It's really good to see you."

"No problem," she replied.

She gave him a quick wave and watched as he joined the group before turning to head back to her car. Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text to Karen confirming that she'd seen Zach. Then, taking another look back at the docks, Claire grabbed a quick picture of the group, Zach easily recognizable with his height, and she passed it along too, with a final message. **He's here. Leave him alone for a bit so he can get settled in. He'll be fine.**

o-o-o

From the moment he'd woken up that day, Owen had been a bundle of nerves. He felt like he had to keep moving, because it seemed to be the only way of keeping himself distracted from his thoughts. He'd barely been able to sit still long enough to eat something for breakfast.

The helicopter was supposed to arrive around nine o'clock. When he'd first heard that, it had been earlier than he'd expected, which he figured was good. The raptors were usually on their best behaviour either in the morning or late afternoon/evening. Since they weren't sure how the field test was going to go, they wanted to have as much daylight as possible.

However, it felt like nine took forever to arrive. It was probably made worse by the fact that he'd been awake since five. Not for the first time, Owen wished there was a workout room or gym or something of that type available. He'd done what he'd been relegating himself to for the past few weeks — running laps along the inside of the perimeter fence. Running wasn't his favourite activity in the first place, and running laps was barely a step up from running on a treadmill, but at least it had allowed him to focus his attention elsewhere, if only briefly.

He was standing on the catwalk with Barry, the two going over their plans for the day, when the helicopter finally arrived. The raptors had been off doing who knows what in their paddock, but they appeared beneath them at the sound of the helicopter, all three of them searching the sky, trying to find it. Owen and Barry watched, curious, as the raptors stared, gazes locked onto the helicopter until it descended out of view. When that happened, the raptors turned their attention to Owen and Barry, finally interested in what they were doing there.

Owen just waved them away as he and Barry headed off the catwalk, knowing that Hoskins would be expecting them to meet up. Owen was also worried that the longer he stayed near the raptors, the more they would start to pick up on his nervous energy. They needed to stay calm and focused for the test ahead. And the sooner they got it in motion, the better, in Owen's opinion.

While the time leading up to the helicopter's arrival had crept by, now that they were here, it felt like things were moving too fast. Owen was trying to stay in control. He had felt so prepared the day before, but now it felt like he couldn't remember where he'd put anything or what the plan was.

But, before he knew it, they had the three raptors in their harnesses. Over the past week, as Barry and Owen had been discussing the plan, they had worried about the quality of the data they were going to get if with only the trackers and possibly a helicopter. Owen had mentioned their concerns to Claire, who had offhandedly commented, "_that's why we have cameras everywhere on the island._" It had sparked an idea, and now Owen and Barry were fitting head cams that were essentially GoPros onto each raptor.

The raptors were attempting to throw a bit of a fit over this (as much as they could while strapped into their harnesses) as they were not happy with the addition. However, the cameras had only arrived that morning with Hoskins, and so Owen and Barry hadn't had time to get the raptors used to them in advance. Owen figured there was a 50-50 chance that the raptors would figure out how to get the cameras off, but it was still worth the try.

The next hurdle of preparation for the test had been figuring out a target for the raptors to find and how to plant it on the island. After all, he and Barry weren't allowed outside of the perimeter fence themselves. When they'd done the hide-and-seek drill before, the raptors had always been contained to their paddock and they had used the catwalks to drop in items. While there wasn't a scent trail to follow, the area was small enough that the raptors were able do some basic recon until they could pick up the scent of what they were looking for and then hone in on it. The idea of using the helicopter was brought up early on, but Owen had balked at that. If they just dropped the target in the middle of Sorna, how were the raptors ever supposed to find it? The area was too large for them to scour, and the longer the raptors were unable to find it, the more likely they were to end up getting distracted and to go off task.

It was actually one of the security guards on the island, who had been eating dinner with Owen and Barry one night while they were discussing possibilities, who'd come up with a solution. Why not use a drone to drop the target? That way, if they flew it close to the ground, they could create a scent trail for the raptors to follow. The only downside, had been that it meant that the target had to be small, as the jungle was dense and the drones they had could only hold so much weight. After circling around the idea for a bit, they landed on the obvious solution — the _drone_ would be the target. They would create a scent package to carry, as a drone on its own wasn't going to be enough, but this way, they wouldn't have to try to get the drone out of the jungle after depositing the package.

So that morning, while Owen and Barry had been with the raptors, and before the helicopter had arrived, the security guard who had come up with the initial idea (and who had demonstrated strong flying skills with the drone) had been responsible for sending it out. The drone had a tracker, and they recorded the path it took (the guard had promised to make sure it wasn't a simple direct route). However, Owen and the others did not know the route (although they'd given some suggestions as to type of terrain to avoid) and they wouldn't be clued in to its location until the raptors had been let loose. This was to prevent them from accidentally giving the raptors any hints (to which Owen and Barry had both rolled their eyes, like the raptors understood directions like North or South).

The final hurdle was how to actually release the raptors outside of the perimeter fence as there was no gate in the fencing. Not only did they need a path outside the perimeter fence, but they also needed a way to get the raptors from their paddock to this new gate — it wasn't like they could set the raptors running free through the main camp area. While Wu and the other lab scientists hadn't yet arrived, there was a construction crew onsite. In the end, they'd modified the raptors' paddock, adding, essentially, a passageway from the main paddock area to the perimeter fence with gates on both sides.

Now, with the cameras on and the raptors ready, Owen and Barry headed up to the catwalk while a tech released the raptors back into their paddock. The raptors definitely looked confused and unhappy, but they looked up when they heard the clicker, and after receiving an initial treat (bribe) of rats, they followed Owen and Barry to the new passageway. They had inspected the changes to their paddock when they had been initially constructed, and so being led there now, appeared to pique their interest.

When they'd created the scent package for the drone, they had divided it into two, one half being sent out with the drone. Now, Barry attached the other half to a long metal pole, lowering it down to the raptors, while Owen gave them their commands. He was relieved to see that the raptors were starting to look excited. The hide-and-seek drill had been one they'd always excelled at, and one they'd always seemed to enjoy. The larger paddock had increased the difficulty, but that had actually appeared to increase their excitement. He really hoped this was going to go well.

It had been agreed that Hoskins and Stephens would stay down in the control room for the release so that the raptors wouldn't be swayed or distracted by them. And as Owen wiped his suddenly sweaty hands against his pants, he was happier than ever at that decision. It wasn't just the raptors who may end up distracted or nervous. He was, too.

And then… they were off. Owen watched as they raced out through the newly opened gates and across the field. He continued watching until they were out of sight, which took barely a minute. "Well, I guess we better go to control," he said to Barry.

"_Oui_," Barry nodded, although his gaze was still glued to the last spot they'd seen the raptors. The two of them stood there for another minute, before finally turning away.

The control room was packed when they walked in, as everyone who wasn't on the construction crew knew what was happening and was interested in the result. The small space was definitely not meant for that many people. Owen pushed his way through the group, physically demanding space with an unobstructed view. The monitors were all showcasing different information. One was divided into four quadrants, with three of them showing the video feeds from the raptors head cams and the fourth the feed from the drone. Another had a large map of the island, with a blue dot and blue path representing the drone. Each raptor had a different coloured dot and was leaving its own trail across the map. So far, they had stuck close together.

To Owen's relief, it appeared the raptors had easily found the scent trail and were now following it steadily. Maybe this was going to go okay, after all.

Owen was still unsure what outcome he was really wanted. Having them succeed would be great, of course, except that it would just give Hoskins more ammo to push the raptors further along his hoped-for path towards militarizing them. Having them fail, well, it would feel like Owen's own personal failure, having been the one who'd trained them. That, and he wasn't sure how Hoskins would react. Would he demand they get put down? Or try to push them to become an attraction again?

He didn't have much time to think about that, as the raptors were moving swiftly and surely across the island, intent on their target. Just over twenty minutes later, the room erupted in cheers as the raptors finally appeared in the camera feed from the drone. They'd done it.

"And now comes the real challenge…" Hoskins said, leaning forward in his chair. "Will they bring it back?"

Owen ignored him, too busy focused on the screen. This was the part he really wasn't sure what to expect. What _would_ the raptors do now? He watched as they approached the drone, nosing it around as they inspected it, before they looked up and around the general area. He thought he recognized the behaviour, that they were looking for him or Barry to give them praise, a rat, and their next command. But this time, they were alone. After a couple of moments they turned back to the drone, before exchanging looks, and then, Blue dipped her head, carefully picking up the drone in her mouth. As a group, the three raptors turned around and started heading back.

Were they really going to do it? Owen looked over at Barry to see that he was as focused as Owen had been on the screen, one of his hands tapping against his leg, the only sign of his nerves. At least Owen wasn't the only one who was feeling anxious over all of this.

The raptors weren't moving as quickly now, clearly taking their time as they wandered through the dense jungle. They'd probably made it about a third of the way back, when it happened. Owen wasn't sure _what_ it was that caught their attention, but as a group, they all suddenly swung their heads to the left. There was only a slight pause, before the drone fell to the ground as Blue let go of it, and then the raptors were off running again.

"What happened?" Parker demanded, turning to look at Owen. "Where are they going?"

"I guess something else caught their attention," Owen replied with a slight frown. While they had the camera feeds, they didn't have sound, and the feeds gave them a narrow perspective from the direction the raptors were facing. "My guess is they heard something — maybe an animal of some kind — and they're going to check it out."

"Can't you get them back on task? Give them a command?" Parker asked.

"How?" Owen said. "It's not like they're going to hear me from here."

"What about the drone?" the security guard who had flown it earlier spoke up. "I could fly it around, see if we can get their attention. Do you think they'd follow it?"

Owen exchanged looks with Barry. "That might work," he agreed reluctantly. While he wasn't all that hopeful, he also didn't want to admit that, not yet, and not in front of his boss and his boss's boss. Even if he hadn't been for this test to begin with, failure was always going to be turned back as a negative on him and his training.

It took a bit to get set up to fly the drone again, at which point the raptors had gained some distance. The drone had barely started after them, when the raptors began to spread out, Blue in the middle and Charlie and Echo veering off to the left and right.

"They found something," Barry said, watching as the three trackers divided on the screen, no longer sticking together. "That's their hunting pattern."

A couple of minutes later, the raptors converged together again, quickly taking down what appeared to be a puma, causing the room to fall silent.

"Didn't know there were any of those on the island," someone said after a minute.

"Oops," another laughed nervously.

Owen didn't say anything. He wasn't really sure what he wanted to say, but he knew he'd rather just talk to Barry than voice any of his current thoughts to the whole room. Part of him was proud of how well the raptors had hunted together. For animals that had been raised in captivity, to see them do something so successful in what was essentially the wild, was satisfying. He hadn't completely domesticated them. And even more so, the hunting skills he and Barry and trained into them had worked. But, on the other hand, they were even farther from the paddock now then they had been, and he was less confident that the raptors were going to choose to return on their own. Not now that they were getting an idea of just how large an area it was, and realizing they could find their own food.

"I'm almost to them," the security guard said, bringing Owen's attention back over to the monitor with the map view. He watched as the drone's dot moved closer to the raptors, before looking back at the video feed. Soon, they could see the raptors from the drone's camera, and when it entered the same area as the raptors, the three of them looked up, surprised by the presence of the now buzzing object.

Maybe he should've predicted it, but he hadn't. Instead of being curious and coming over to investigate, the raptors immediately scattered, each taking off in a different direction.

"Well, I guess that didn't work," someone commented, and a nervous chuckle ran around the room.

"Plan B?" Hoskins said, standing up from his chair looking a bit thrilled at the idea. He looked over at Owen and Barry, as if expecting their agreement.

"Let's give them a bit more time," Barry suggested and Owen nodded.

Owen didn't think either he or Barry actually thought that more time was going to make a difference, and he was pretty sure from the brief look Hoskins sent their way, that Hoskins also knew. But, he also wasn't looking forward to essentially hunting the raptors.

"They've got an hour," Hoskins finally said, looking at his watch. "And then we'll send out the helicopter."

o-o-o

"So? How did it go?" Claire asked eagerly the moment Owen answered the phone.

She'd been holding back from texting him all day, knowing he'd be swamped with work and not wanting to be a distraction. She'd hoped he'd send her an update, but she hadn't heard anything. And when she'd gone by control, they hadn't actually known anything was happening. Lowery had looked surprised at the news of the field test, and then disappointed that they were getting any of the feeds from it.

"_It went… better than expected. And also worse,_" Owen finally replied.

"How so?" Claire asked, before a thought hit her and she sunk down onto the couch, now worried. "Are the raptors okay? Did they get hurt?"

"_They're fine,_" Owen reassured her. "_A little pissed at me, but fine._"

"Pissed at you?"

"_We had to tranq them in the end, to get them back,_" he admitted.

"Oh." Claire knew that that was one of the possible outcomes that Owen had been dreading. She stayed silent, waiting him out.

"_Before then… well, it was good. They found the scent trail immediately and followed it directly to the target as we wanted them too._"

"That's good, right?"

"_It is. And they even started to bring it back._" Owen's amazement was clear over the phone. So much so that she couldn't help but smile a little.

"What happened?" she asked.

"_They heard or saw something. Not super sure on what exactly,_" he said. "_But, one moment they were on their way back, and the next they had dropped it and raced off into the jungle."_ There was a pause. "_They killed a puma._"

"Really?"

"_We tried to send the drone after them to see if we could get them to follow it back, but it seemed to freak them out. They scattered when it got near. Took us all afternoon to track them down and tranq them. And then even longer to get them back, as we had to use the helicopter and do so one by one._" There was a heavy sigh. "_It's been a very long day._"

"Sounds that way," Claire agreed. "But, it also sounds like it went better than you hoped."

"_That's true, it did,_" Owen said.

She listened as she heard him moving around. "Are you back in your room now?"

"_Yeah._"

"I wish I was there with you," she said after a few seconds of silence. The sentiment had become a common theme on their calls, but it didn't make it any less true.

There was another heavy sigh, followed by: "_Me too._"

o-o-o

Henry had only been on Sorna for three days now, but he was already semi-regretting his decision. Maybe he really hadn't thought this through enough.

So far, the main positive was his lab. Being brand new and having had a chance to weigh in on the design, he'd been able to remove some of his pet peeves from the one on Nublar. However, it was also smaller than he'd wanted, and his team was significantly reduced, too. In the end, InGen had decided for the sake of expediency to initially transfer only Henry and a small number of his scientists to start, while over half his team remained back on Nublar. He knew that how the next half a year or so played out would determine if InGen thought it was worthwhile to continue to build out the lab on Sorna or if they should cut their losses and move them all back.

But, he wasn't concerned about that. No, right now he was mainly disappointed in the amenities (or lack thereof) on the island. It was not that he'd expected to be arriving to a five star hotel or anything like that, but he'd been dismayed to realize that his assigned quarters were essentially identical to what everyone else had received. And when he'd gone by the lounge that first evening, he'd found people in the middle of some video game tournament and had immediately turned around and left.

The supposed bright spot to his arrival was that there were now two cooks on the island. It wasn't exactly that they were bad (and they hadn't had much chance to show off their skills yet), but Henry was used to his own impeccable cooking or visiting the high-end restaurants on Nublar. What these cooks had been preparing (and he had noted immediately with disdain that they were _cooks_ and not _chefs_), would never qualify for a Michelin star. He'd watched in a sort of horrid fascination at the relief that had coated the faces of everyone who'd been on the island for the past month and a half when they had sat down at that first meal. You would have thought they had been living off bread and water that whole time.

So, while he'd only been on the island for three days, he had resigned himself to spending most of his time cooped up in the lab. Which wasn't all bad — when he would get caught up in his experiments, he'd lose track of time anyway. And if that meant he'd end up visiting the kitchen in the middle of the night and therefore would have to prepare his own food, well, _he_ wouldn't be disappointed.

He'd had his team spend their first day organizing the lab and their second day recalibrating all of the equipment and running tests to make sure everything was prepared. They'd checked all of the samples they'd brought over and had checked and double checked that they had all the supplies they needed. And today, on day three, they had finally got to work.

Last week Eli, who he was starting to think may be a little too hot-headed for this work, had contacted Hoskins in a panic saying he needed a "sample." And then Hoskins had turned to Henry and pressed for a timeline. How quickly could Henry get eggs incubating? How soon could they get the first ones off island? Henry had calmly replied that he'd need at least a week before they would have any eggs incubating, and then it would be another eight to ten weeks before they hatched.

Which had just led to an argument. Hoskins insisting that as soon as the eggs were incubating was the right time to get one off island, and Henry having to fight back. Yes, their success rates were getting better and better, but they still had failures in every single batch. In his opinion, it would be worse if they managed to get an egg all the way to a buyer only for it to not hatch.

And _that_ had led to another argument, as Henry didn't believe that they should even be considering moving eggs. It was his opinion that they needed to wait for them to hatch. And not _just_ because of the failure rates. He'd had to explain (multiple times, to his frustration) the difficulty of keeping the eggs alive even when they were stored safely in their incubators, and how it would be almost impossible to properly replicate those conditions while on the move. The eggs were fragile. They couldn't be bouncing all over the place. But even more importantly, they had to be kept at just the right temperature and with just the right humidity.

Eventually, Hoskins had nodded and reluctantly agreed, although not without the caveat that just because they were going to try things Henry's way _this time_, to not expect it to happen next time. And that Henry better get some eggs in the incubator ASAP.

Hoskins's reaction had caused Henry to hold back from bringing up his other concern. That they still didn't have a viable plan for how they were going to actually get a dinosaur off island. Everything was tracked. Even the eggs had QR codes that were scanned every thirty minutes.

And that was why, on day three, as much as he was hating life on Sorna, Henry was happily working late in the lab. He'd always worked best with goals. Goals and working to beat expectations. It was why he'd been able to figure out how to bring back the dinosaurs in less time than even Hammond or Lockwood had ever expected. He'd decided that instead of relying on Hoskins for a removal plan, he would take it upon himself to figure it out. It was his goal, now, that when the new dinosaurs hatched in eight or so weeks, he would be ready with a plan.

o-o-o

The sound of a helicopter made Owen look up and groan. Who was coming _now_? When he looked back down into the paddock he wasn't surprised to see that the raptors were also staring in the direction of the arriving helicopter. Well, that was probably the end of their session for the morning. While they had also been interested the other week when Parker and Hoskins had arrived, after having to use the helicopter to essentially hunt them down after the field test, Owen realized he probably shouldn't be surprised that they were looking kind of jumpy now.

He managed to get their attention long enough to dismiss them, before he gathered his supplies and started the walk back to the stairs at the other end of the paddock. As he walked, he was busy wondering where he could go to try and hide from whoever was arriving, on the off chance they were there to see him. A helicopter had to mean someone important. But, considering that Hoskins was already on the island and that Parker had been there the other week for the field test, he was really hoping whoever was coming now was here to see Wu and not him.

Owen was so caught up in his thoughts, it wasn't until he reached the top of the stairs that he realized that the raptors had been following him. Looking down at them, he saw that they were alternating their gaze between the helicopter (that was almost overhead now) and the bucket he was carrying. He sighed loudly and rolled his eyes, but he still gave them each a rat.

At the bottom of the stairs he headed for the small shed, cleaning out the bucket and putting away everything he had been using. He could hear the helicopter descending into the open area behind him and he was hoping to stay out of sight. He cursed, briefly, when he heard the whirl of the blades cut off, as that meant whoever was arriving was definitely going to be around for a while. He'd been holding out a smidge of hope that maybe it was actually just a quick drop off or pick up.

Owen was mostly protected from view of the helicopter by the shed doors, and so once he was done with his cleanup, he didn't move. There was no way he could get over to his office without being seen, and anyway, that (after the paddock) was where people were most likely to look for him, should they be looking for him. They really needed more places to be able to escape to on the island. Listening intently, he tried to detect if there were any footsteps headed his way. Hoskins must not have come out to greet whoever had arrived, as his booming voice was usually easy to pick up. Maybe Owen had been right, and they were there to see Wu.

After waiting a few more minutes, he finally peered around the door. While the helicopter was blocking most of his view, he did manage to catch a glimpse of a few people entering the new lab building. Heaving a sigh of relief, he finally shut the doors to the shed.

Deciding that whoever had arrived wasn't his concern, he popped by the kitchen to grab a snack and then headed for his room. He didn't feel like working on reports (and actually didn't have any left to do). He supposed he could've attempted to start another training session, but he'd just dismissed the raptors and he didn't know how long the visitors would be around for. It'd be just his luck that they'd leave as soon he got going again. The raptors could have a break for now.

He was lying on his bed, hands tucked under his head and staring at the ceiling when the knock came. Owen turned to look at the door, but didn't move. After a short pause there was a second knock, although it was slightly more hesitant than the first. Not Barry, then. His friend would just bang heavily against the door if he wanted something.

Getting up, he walked quietly to the door, wishing for the first time that there was a peephole, as he debated whether to open it.

When the third knock came, it was accompanied by a voice calling, "Owen?" A voice he'd recognize anywhere. He was pretty sure he'd never responded to anything faster in his life, as he flung the door open.

"Claire?" he said, stunned as his jaw dropped momentarily, still surprised to see her standing there, even after hearing her voice.

She didn't even have a chance to say anything before he had reached for her, tugging her to him, his hands threading into her hair as he kissed her. She responded instantly, her mouth parting beneath his. He was so caught up in the kiss, that he didn't realize at first that she was pushing him, and there was a brief moment of confusion as he tried to pull back, thinking she was pushing him away, before he realized she was pushing him back into his room. He stumbled inside with her, kicking his door closed behind them. A moment later he felt his bed behind him, and he pulled her down with him, his lips never leaving hers.

Slowly, as the realization sunk in that, yes, she really was there with him, he slowed down the initial frenzied and hurried nature of their kissing, wanting to savour it. He could feel her hand sliding down his side until it dipped under his shirt, starting to push it up. Gasping, he drew back just far enough away to ask, "how long are you here for?"

His question seemed to pull her back to the present. She pulled her hand away, using it instead to help prop herself up on his chest as she looked down at him. "I've only got an hour," she admitted.

"We can do a lot in an hour," he said with a grin, rolling them over until he was hovered above her. He paused, his eyes locked on hers. "I've missed you so much."

"Me too," Claire replied, reaching up and running her hand through his hair.

He closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the sensation before he dipped down, capturing her lips in another kiss. He was about to reach for her shirt, when the sound of footsteps overhead stopped him in his tracks. Damn, he'd forgotten how thin the walls and ceiling were.

"Wow, you weren't kidding about the lack of soundproofing," Claire said, looking up at the ceiling. She made a pained expression, "Ugh, that means they would hear…"

"I can be quiet," Owen promised, as he started kissing her again, trying to distract her from the sounds. It worked for about five seconds before they were interrupted by a new sound as Barry started talking to someone out in the hallway.

He rested his forehand against hers, his eyes closing as a soft "fuck" slipped out. He felt her trembling beneath him and he opened his eyes to see that she was trying to hide a laugh. When she saw him looking, she was no longer able to keep it hidden, her smile stretching wider. "This is like being back at college."

"Don't even joke about putting a sock on the door," Owen groaned, his eyes briefly slipping closed again with a grimace. "It's fitting, isn't it?" he grumbled, shifting to his side, so he wouldn't crush her. "That when we finally manage to end up in the same place again it'd have to be _here_, where there's no such thing as privacy."

"I'm sorry," Claire said, looking up at him. She raised her hand again, cupping his cheek for a moment. He turned his head, pressing a kiss against her wrist. "I wish I'd been able to figure out a way over here sooner."

"I wish Hoskins would let me off this damn island," Owen replied, his voice annoyed. "His excuse now is that the boat isn't frequent enough and I can't be gone for that long."

"Well, I've got good news then," Claire said. "Henry's got a batch of eggs incubating–"

"Already?" Owen interrupted, surprised. He'd been paying as little attention to Wu and the other lab people as he could get away with.

"Yeah," she said, shifting onto her side, and propping her head up with her hand. "We're going to start shifting a few more lab people over. And we need to increase security as well. Also, the guards have been complaining, so we're going to start rotating them between Nublar and Sorna, instead of keeping them here for so long. And we've also got a couple more buildings being planned, so that means another construction crew…"

"Does that mean–?" Owen barely dared to hope.

"We're going to move to a daily crossing," she said, before a frown briefly furrowed her brows. "Well, I guess it's more every other day. Here one day, back to Nublar the next, anyway. So hopefully you can come home now."

"And I didn't think I could love you more," Owen said, giving her another kiss.

They got temporarily carried away again, but this time it was Claire who pulled back, looking down at her watch. "I really don't have a lot of time," she reminded him. "I was actually supposed to come find you to see if you wanted to have lunch with everyone."

"Who's everyone?" Owen asked, already pretty sure he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Simon and Henry," she replied and Owen immediately scrunched his nose, shaking his head. "Yeah, I figured," Claire laughed. "I told them not to expect us." She pushed up until she was sitting, looking around his room. His very _barren_ room, he was realizing, following her gaze. Really, the only personal touch he had was the photo she'd slipped into his bag. "How can you stand this? We need to get you some more… I don't know, pictures and stuff. Some throw pillows. Need to make this more your home."

"This isn't home," he protested. He wasn't surprised when her gaze swung to his. "My home's with you. On Nublar."

"And you'll still have that, but you can't live like this, Owen," she said. "No wonder you're going stir crazy here. Your room's worse than a jail cell."

"If they're going to do more construction," he started, not wanting to focus on his room, "are they going to move back the fences? Or take them down?"

"There's been talk about increasing the perimeter," Claire nodded. "Why?"

"I would love some more space," Owen admitted. "No one can get away from anyone here. I'm not the only one going stir crazy. We could use another lounge. And a gym. And–"

"I'll mention it," Claire promised, interrupting his spiel. She stood up, moving over to the mirror that was hanging on the wall, straightening out her hair. He watched as she then also straightened her outfit, turning this way and that before looking satisfied. When she caught his gaze in the mirror she finally turned back to him. "What? I can't really go back to Simon looking like I was just–" she flushed, before gesturing vaguely at his bed.

"We didn't even get to third base," Owen said, pushing up and off the bed, cornering her against the wall. "Seems a little unfair, actually."

Squealing, Claire pushed him back when he dipped his head down to nip at her neck. "Talk to Hoskins so you can come home."

Giving a dramatic shudder, Owen pulled back, a grimace on his face. "You can't mention _his_ name now."

"C'mon, Romeo," Claire reached for his hand. "Why don't you show me the raptors new paddock. Maybe you'll be less distracted out there."

"Doubtful," Owen muttered, but he followed after her anyway. As they left the building and headed across the open area, he tugged her closer to his side, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "Thank you for coming."

* * *

_So... what did you think of the field test? I really struggled with coming up with how it should play out and what the raptors should even do. Let me know by leaving a comment. _


	10. Chapter 10

_Oh, I see some people had questions about the puma. I looked up what animals live in Costa Rica and a puma was one of them, so I figured they could exist over on Sorna. I wanted the raptors to find something somewhat big, not just a mouse or rat.  
_

**Chapter 10**

For the second time in as many months, Claire found herself down at the North docks. And just like the last time she'd been there, she was standing off to the side, trying to mostly disappear into the surroundings. But instead of watching Owen rushing around and getting ready to leave, she was scouring the horizon, waiting for the boat to finally appear.

It was almost two weeks to the day since she'd been out to visit him on Sorna, and she'd been impatiently waiting for him to finally come home. The day the boat had moved to daily sailings between the islands she had expected him to be on board. She had been more disappointed than she'd wanted to admit when he hadn't been.

He'd had good reasons for his delay. First, he'd wanted to give Barry a chance to get off-island, since Owen had at least already had a visit from Claire. Claire had been surprised to learn that Barry had a girlfriend on Nublar. Well, sort-of girlfriend. More friends with benefits, was how Owen had explained it. Then, when Barry had finally got back to Sorna, there had been some sort of tussle or exchange or something with the raptors (she still wasn't quite clear on the details) and Owen had felt the need to stick around longer. But, finally, he was coming home.

She knew he didn't expect her to meet the boat when it arrived. They'd talked about meeting up later, as she was busy with work, as usual. However, she'd found herself struggling to focus all morning, even though he wasn't expected to arrive for hours. It was Zara who had finally just shoved her out the door, saying she might as well go meet Owen. That they could catch up on work later.

As the boat finally appeared on the horizon, and then pulled into the docks, Claire forced herself to take deep breaths, trying to steady her now-racing heart. He would be happy to see her, she told herself. Just because they hadn't planned on it, didn't mean he didn't want her to be there.

She was still hovering off to the side when he finally disembarked. There weren't actually all that many people arriving. She counted about eight getting off, and at least a couple of them were part of the boat's crew. Owen was busy talking with another guy as they walked down the dock, and Claire didn't know if she should move forward or call out his name or what.

Now that he was there, she wasn't sure what she'd been expecting to happen. Was he supposed to see her from the boat and come rushing off and swing her around in a giant hug and kiss like a corny romance movie? Not only did that seem ridiculous, but it also didn't feel like them. Maybe meeting him at their place later had been a better plan, after all. At least it would have been private.

But it was too late to change her mind. Not only because she was there, but because at that moment Owen finally _did_ spot her. The broad smile that lit up his face made all her worries evaporate in an instant. She couldn't tell what he said to the guy he had been talking to, but he was now heading swiftly in her direction.

"You're here!" he exclaimed as he approached.

"Couldn't wait to see you," she admitted. She _was_ a little surprised that he stopped a couple of feet away and that he didn't reach for her immediately. Her own hands were itching to reach for him. Suddenly her fears came rushing back. He _was_ happy she was there, right?

"I'm…" he looked around for a second before his gaze landed back on hers. "I'm a little hesitant to touch you right now because I don't know that I'll be able to stop myself once I do, and it's a little public here."

"I almost don't care," she replied, already stepping forward and reaching for him. He met her halfway, as her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him down to her. Claire let herself get lost in the kiss for a while, until her need to breath caused her to pull away, although she kept herself wrapped around him, tucking her head under his chin. When her breathing had steadied slightly, she asked, hesitantly, "It's okay I'm here?"

"Okay?" he sounded surprised, and he moved back a bit, although he kept his arms wrapped around her until they were eye to eye. "More than okay. Perfect." He pulled her in for another kiss, although this one was much shorter, and he was pulling back well before she liked. Keeping an arm wrapped around her so she was still tucked up close to his side, Owen started walking them away from the docks. "Let's get out of here. The rest of my hello _really_ can't happen in public."

o-o-o

Owen had meant to go straight out to his lot. That had been his initial plan, anyway. But he'd climbed onto his motorcycle and just hadn't wanted to get off. Not yet. He ended up spending almost an hour zooming around the island before finally getting himself focused again.

It wasn't like he was in a rush. Claire was stuck working all day, and so he had to wait for her to finish up before they could spend time together. He'd been so excited to finally get back to Nublar that he hadn't even thought about what her schedule would be like. He knew she was doing her best to move things around and to delegate so that they could have as much time together as possible, but he also knew she was a workaholic. She loved her job and there were certain tasks she'd never feel comfortable asking someone else to take on. Besides, it was better if she just did those ones herself, otherwise she'd end up stressed out wondering what was happening. He _did_ know her.

Still, Owen had been surprised that she'd met him at the dock the previous afternoon. He'd planned on dropping his stuff at their place and then heading straight to her work. When they'd initially talked about that, it had seemed like a reasonable plan. After all, after the past couple of weeks, what was another thirty minutes? But, as they'd driven back to their place, he'd realized that if she hadn't been there to greet him, there's no way he'd have been able to go home first. Two weeks was still too long.

It wasn't only her presence that had surprised him though, but just how happy she was to have him there. It wasn't that he'd expected her to be unhappy. And he'd known from all their phone calls that she missed him and was excited that he was finally coming home — although disappointed that it was only going to be for two nights. But, the previous night, lying in bed, too hyped up on the other's presence to fall asleep, even though they should've been more than exhausted from getting reacquainted, and listening as she talked about mundane things, like how her day had been, he'd been struck by a realization.

He knew that he had been going crazy on Sorna. That he missed Claire, and his old place (and _their _place) and everything about Nublar. But as he lay there, he realized that he'd always just sort of assumed that Claire was fine. That she was the lucky one (getting to stay on Nublar and with all their stuff and her regular job). But now he was starting to understand that he'd completely misread how she was doing. That he'd been too caught up in his own frustration over everything, that he'd missed that Claire was struggling just as much, if not more.

Thus his plan to check on his lot. He was thinking that after dinner that night, they could head out there instead of their condo, and just get away from everyone and everything for the night. Have some true peace and quiet together. Something that he'd been desperately searching for for two months now. He was pretty sure they could both benefit from a night of no obligations and no interruptions.

Finally pulling onto his lot, he was greeted by an unexpected sight. A park jeep was parked off to the side, but that wasn't even what caught his attention at first. It was the two people who had been leaning against the tree in the middle of his property engaged in what looked to be a very heated and involved kiss. The two people who had sprung back at the sound of his motorcycle, turning to stare at him, while scrambling to straighten their clothes. Slowing to a stop, Owen felt his jaw drop, recognition setting in.

"Zach?" It was the only thing Owen could think to say, as he stared at the wide-eyed look on the two teens in front of him. When finally his own stunned realization started to pass, he turned off his motorcycle, before closing his eyes briefly as he scrubbed his hands over his face. Jesus… what was he supposed to do now? Opening his eyes, he focused on the young people again, not surprised to see that Zach was now standing slightly in front of the girl, who was clutching at his arm. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, um…" Zach stuttered, unable to meet his gaze.

"You know him?" the girl asked, her voice soft and directed only towards Zach, but without the noise of his motorcycle, Owen was able to hear her just fine.

"Yeah, he's my…" Zach stumbled again. "That's Owen. He, um, he…"

"I'm dating his aunt," Owen finally stated, watching as the girl's mouth dropped open, and he tried to hide his own eye roll in response. What had Zach told this girl about how he'd known about Owen's lot?

"I didn't know you knew anyone on the island." This time the girl didn't bother trying to be quiet. "I thought you said this place was abandoned."

"It's _sort of_ abandoned," Zach replied, wincing a little as Owen sent him a glare. Owen's place was very much _not_ abandoned. Zach focused back on Owen, "I didn't know you were back on Nublar."

"Clearly," Owen said dryly with a roll of his eyes. He climbed off his motorcycle, tucking the keys into his back pocket. "Claire–Your aunt was supposed to get a hold of you today. I think she was hoping we could have dinner tonight."

"Oh. How long are you here for?"

"Got here late yesterday and have to head back first thing tomorrow," Owen said, coming to a stop closer to the teens.

Zach nodded. "You're not going to ask what we're doing out here?" he asked after the silence started to stretch.

"Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea," Owen replied with a smirk, watching as both Zach and the girl blushed.

"Are you mad?"

"Mad?" Owen considered the question. Was he mad? He didn't think so. More, he was just confused over what he was supposed to do now. He didn't feel bad about catching them, as it _was_ his lot and he still wanted to check it over and make sure that everything was in good shape for a visit later. Just… was he _supposed_ to be mad at Zach? Should he be calling Claire? What was the right answer? He sighed, looking away from them. "No, not mad. But… my place, really?"

"There's not a lot of private places around here," Zach shrugged. "I mean, have you seen the dorms they put us in? We all have roommates."

Owen chuckled at that. Well, there was one silver lining to his quarters on Sorna. At least he didn't have to deal with a roommate. "There are lots of places that aren't here," he finally said. "What do you think Claire would do if she found you out here?" He had to keep himself from bursting into full on laughter as Zach's face paled.

"Are you going to tell her?" Zach finally asked. "Oh god, she'd tell my mom."

"Relax," Owen took pity on him. And on the girl who had been watching the exchange nervously. "Trust me, _I_ don't want to be having that conversation with Claire anymore than you do. But… I'll promise not to tell her, but you have to promise not to come out here again."

"Promise," Zach agreed quickly, the girl nodding eagerly.

"Oh, and we should probably pretend we haven't seen each other yet. At dinner, I mean, unless you want to explain," Owen looked around at his lot before refocusing on the teens, "well, _this_. Assuming you can come."

Zach blinked. "Should I?"

"Of course." Owen was confused at Zach's question. "Why wouldn't you?"

"You just said you don't have much time here," Zach shrugged. "I know you guys haven't been able to see each other much. I don't want to get in the way. Actually, where is she?" he looked around for a second, as if expecting Claire to suddenly appear. "I would've thought you'd be spending your whole visit _together_."

There was a look to Zach's expression as he spoke that took Owen a moment to grasp, but when he did, he could feel the heat creeping up his neck. God, this was a topic he didn't want to have any conversation about with Zach. He quickly tried to redirect the conversation to a much more mundane topic.

"She's working," he shrugged. "The new investor guy is out for a visit, so she had things she couldn't put off." He looked around his lot. "I thought I'd come check on this place. I don't know how frequently she's been getting out here and the storms often mess with the solar panels."

"Maybe that's why the lights don't work," the girl finally spoke up again, before Zach elbowed her, and she blushed.

"Not your first visit, huh?" Owen raised an eyebrow as he looked over at Zach. There was no reason for them to be using the lights right now, not in the middle of a bright sunny afternoon.

"I did look briefly," Zach admitted. "But I don't know much about how they work. I'm better with cars."

"It's actually pretty simple," Owen said. "I could show you…"

"Really? I'd–" Zach cut himself off as he looked at the girl with him, before turning back to Owen. "Another time. We should probably get back."

"Sure," Owen agreed easily. "Hopefully I'll have more advance notice before I come back next. And that I can come for longer. I'll let you know."

"It's good to see you," Zach said. He looked again at the girl beside him and then back to Owen. "And… thanks."

"No problem," Owen laughed. "Been there."

He watched as they headed over to the jeep. As they walked away, he heard the girl ask Zach who his aunt was. He wasn't able to hear Zach's response, but he felt a bit bad for the kid. Claire had told him that she was pretty sure that Zach was hoping to keep his connection to her hidden. That he seemed to really want this internship to be something he'd earned on his own, and not something that others would think he got because of connections. While Owen had never been in a position to use connections himself (well, not until maybe now with Claire), it was a stance he respected.

But, he also didn't feel bad that Zach had to explain now. Not if he had been using Owen's lot as a place to escape to with girls. He looked back out at his lot. He didn't want to think about _what_ they may have been up to or _where_. Shuddering, he headed towards his trailer, trying to push those thoughts away. If they were right and the power wasn't working, he needed to deal with that first.

o-o-o

"I can't believe how much progress you've already made," Eli said as he toured the site of the new research center with Claire.

"We move quickly," Claire confirmed. "We broke ground about a month ago and look to be on track for an opening late this year. Probably November-ish."

"Wow, I'm impressed. And I know that Ben is too," Eli commented.

"Do you think there's any possibility we can bring him out for the opening?" Claire asked. "I know his health isn't great, but it would just be so nice to have him out here for that."

"We'll see. I know he'd love to come. If there's a way we can make it happen…"

"Well, if there's anything you need us to do," Claire told him.

She watched as he nodded absently, still focused on the construction in front of him. Using his momentary distraction, Claire checked her watch. She was impatient for the meeting to end so she could go and find Owen. They had such limited time together, and to be spending it looking at, well, essentially piles of dirt surrounding a new foundation felt like a waste of her time. Of course, that thought just made her feel guilty. She (and Simon) were pinning a lot of hopes on the launch of the research institute. They had received a lot of positive publicity and interest following the initial press release on the agreement. She needed it to go well.

"Oh, before I forget," Eli reached into the folder he was carrying, pulling out a few sheets of paper which he handed to Claire. "Ben had some ideas on who to reach out to to help evaluate applicants for the institute. I know it's an area we said we'd be hands off on, but he just wanted to pass along a few names."

"Thanks," she said. She started flipping through the pages, skimming them over, her eyes widening a bit at some of the names listed. "I think we have most of these names on our list already."

"Probably," he nodded. "It's pretty crazy that even after all these years it's still such a small community."

"Well, for as much as we've had a very positive reception from the general public, the scientific community has always been… well, let's just say they would appreciate it we published more," Claire said.

Scientific publishing was not an area that she would claim to know well at all. But, she knew that InGen and Henry had made numerous discoveries around genetics in all the research that had been done for Jurassic Park and now Jurassic World. And she knew that there were a lot of scientists who would love to get their hands on all of it. However, expanding that access, publishing their results, would also greatly increase the odds of another company catching up to InGen (and there were always companies trying), and another Jurassic World-type experience opening up elsewhere. In order to try to prevent that, InGen had squashed the ability of scientists to publish, and had instead focused their resources on gathering patents and IP protection wherever possible.

While there were numerous advantages for Jurassic World and InGen in keeping their tight reign, Claire knew that there were also downsides. Not everyone wanted to use the knowledge to bring back extinct species. Many wanted access in order to hopefully create new and novel treatments for many current diseases and illnesses such as cancer. The policy had also sometimes had a negative effect on hiring, as not everyone wanted to work in what could be perceived as harsh conditions, what with not being allowed to publish, the isolation of living and working on Nublar (although InGen did have some smaller offices located elsewhere) and the heavy NDA they were placed under that also prevented most discussion.

"Henry probably would, too," Eli said with a chuckle.

Claire nodded, but she was a little surprised at the familiarity Eli used with Henry. Even Owen, who had met the guy numerous times still usually called him Wu. Then again, maybe Eli had met him before. After all, Lockwood would know Henry from the pre-Jurassic Park years. There was nothing to say that they hadn't maintained contact.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you about Isla Sorna," Eli said, as they finally left the site and headed back towards Claire's office.

"Sorna? What about that island?" Claire asked, her brow furrowing.

What would Eli know about Sorna? While they weren't exactly hiding the information that they'd moved some operations over there, it wasn't something that they had publicly announced, as it was pretty much just a subset of InGen operations that had moved. Not anything specifically belonging to Jurassic World.

"Ben has talked about Sorna," Eli said. "I think he said the island got a bit… well, ravaged is I think the word he used, by the dinosaurs that were let loose after Jurassic Park fell. But, are there any over there now?"

"Um," Claire said, unsure how to answer that. There really wasn't any reason for Eli to have any knowledge about the current operations on Sorna.

"Last time you mentioned that space here is at a premium," he continued. "So I've been thinking about that island recently. It was able to handle dinosaurs before. If there's nothing there now, maybe it would make a good sanctuary? A place for the older dinosaurs to go."

She felt relief flow through her at his words. He was still thinking about the research institute. Feeling more comfortable with the topic now, she replied, "Actually, we've recently started using Sorna again."

Eli's eyes widened with surprise. "Really?"

"Like you said, we're at a premium for space. It felt like the right time to shift some of our operations back over there, where they wouldn't be as constrained," she said, trying to stay as vague as possible.

"Did you resurrect Site B?"

And _that_ was the downside of Eli having all sorts of past knowledge about Jurassic Park. Claire never knew just how much he'd been told about the early operations. And part of her hated that it was quite likely that he actually knew more than she did.

"Not exactly," she finally went with. She didn't like lying, and tried to focus on the fact that it was only sort of a lie. Sure, they _had_ moved part of Henry's lab over there, but there were also the raptors there. And Site B (to her knowledge anyway) had never had anything like that.

"Well, depending on what's there, it may still work," he finally said with a shrug as they started up the steps to the control building, before swiftly changing subjects. "Are you free for dinner tonight? I had a few more ideas I thought I could share with you."

"I actually have plans," she said, trying to look disappointed. She looked down at her watch again, checking the time. Damn, she was already past when she'd been hoping to get free. But… some days work really did have to come first. "I can probably free up about thirty minutes right now, if that works. I just need to send a quick message." Eli nodded and Claire pulled out her phone, sending off an apology text to Owen, followed by a second one to Zara asking her to _please_ bail her out in thirty minutes. Then, pasting on a smile, she focused back on Eli.

o-o-o

"So, Zach seemed appreciative of dinner tonight," Claire said, as they walked back to her car.

"Probably getting a little sick of the cafeteria food," Owen replied with a shrug.

"It's not that bad," she protested. "And it's not like he can't go to the restaurants on his own if he wants."

"Easier to justify places like Winston's when your aunt is paying for it," he said with a grin.

"That's true," she agreed. "Maybe I should be taking him out more often. At least he seems happy. I've been wondering how his time here has been, but haven't wanted to intrude."

"Oh, I think he's getting along just fine," Owen said, holding out his hand as they approached her car.

"What does that mean?" Claire paused, looking at him intently.

"Nothing," he said, before quickly attempting to distract her. "Hey, I've got plans for us, can I drive?"

"Plans?"

"Thought it'd be nice to get away for a bit," Owen said, taking the keys she was still holding and getting into the driver's seat.

"Away? We're stuck on an island. And you're going back to Sorna tomorrow. We can't get away," she protested, but she followed after him, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Maybe not _away_ away, but I thought we could spend some time in one of our favourite spots," Owen said as he pulled out onto the back roads. "Just ditch the noise and crowds for a bit. No interruptions. Just us."

"Sounds amazing," Claire admitted.

He reached over and grabbed her hand, lacing his fingers through hers. She let out a soft sigh.

Owen glanced over at her. "After the last two months just being here with you is amazing."

"I'm sorry we had to spend part of your visit with Zach. And that I worked most of it," Claire apologized.

"You never need to apologize for doing your job," he said, shaking his head. "And I like Zach. It was good to see him."

"Thanks."

Owen was about to say more, but as he pulled onto his lot Claire let out a gasp.

"Oh, wow," she said, staring at the lot. Before he'd left to meet her for dinner, he'd turned on the outdoor lights he had strung up.

"I know it's not quite the same as the lights in the gardens," he said as they climbed out of the car. "But I thought it'd be a nice effect."

"It's… wow," she repeated, joining him in front of the car. "What's all this for?"

"No reason," he shrugged, wrapping his arms around her, as he pulled her in front of him, dropping a kiss onto the top of her head. The two stood there for a minute just taking in the view, before Owen shifted his hold on her, leading them forward.

"I haven't been out here since you left," she admitted as they walked towards the hammock. "I wanted to, it's just… our place feels lonely enough. Couldn't really bear to come out here." She looked around the place. "I probably should've. Nature's so fast to reclaim stuff here. It looks in good shape, though. Did you spend your entire day here?"

"Not the whole day," Owen said as he climbed into the hammock. "I went for a drive on my motorcycle. And then went and had tacos for lunch."

"How're the cooks working out?" Claire asked, climbing in after him and shifting around, the two adjusting until they found a comfortable position.

"Huge improvement," he laughed. "I mean, the bar was so low it really didn't take much. Although I think I've heard a few people commenting that Wu's not impressed."

"He's fickle," she said. "You know, that reminds me, there was–"

"What?"

"Nevermind, we shouldn't be talking about work. We only have tonight."

"You can't just start something like that and not finish," he protested. "What happened?"

"Eli — the investor I was meeting with today? He just made an odd comment about Henry as well."

Owen frowned. "What did he say?"

"I was saying that the scientific community wishes we'd publish more on our work here and he said that 'Henry probably does too,' " Claire looked up at him. "It was more that he called him Henry. Not Dr. Wu or Wu. I didn't think he'd met him before."

"Doesn't mean he has," Owen said. "But is it possible that he's met him?"

"I guess so? Although I don't know when. He also was asking about Sorna." she couldn't prevent the shudder that ran through her as she thought back to the conversation. She wasn't sure what it was exactly that had left her feeling uneasy.

"Sorna? How does he know about Sorna?"

"He doesn't," she said, before correcting herself. "Well, he doesn't know what's happening there now. He knows about the island and its use as Site B. I guess Lockwood's told him a lot. I don't know how else he'd know."

"You said Lockwood wants to 'save' the dinosaurs, right?" Owen asked and Claire nodded. "And that you weren't really sure that Eli had the same idea?" Claire nodded again. "Maybe Eli's got some other plans going on."

Even though she'd wanted to move off the topic and was annoyed it was now interrupting the limited time she had with Owen, she couldn't contain her curiosity. "Like what?"

"I don't know," Owen fell silent. "What did he want to use Sorna for?"

"He keeps talking about a sanctuary, or a place for the older dinosaurs to go."

"They can't stay here?"

"They can, and right now that's where they'll be," she confirmed. "But the T. rex is almost 30 now. We don't actually know what will happen to the dinosaurs as they age. We don't want to be putting them down, but we do need to keep our attractions as safe as we can for guests."

Owen couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Hey," Claire protested, slapping lightly against his chest.

"Sorry, it's just funny when you think about the Indominus and the Indoraptors, and now even the Mosasaur," he said, trying to contain his laughter.

"Ugh, don't remind me," she groaned, turning her face into his chest.

"It's not your fault," Owen said, his voice suddenly serious. "You know that, right?"

"Fault or not, I was part of it," Claire replied. "I just… I don't want to go through any of that again."

"Me either," he agreed. They fell silent for a bit, swaying in the hammock and staring up at the stars above.

"You sure you can't stay another couple of days?" Claire broke the silence after a while.

"Don't tempt me," Owen joked before looking down at her, meeting her gaze. "You know I wish I could."

She twisted in the hammock, pulling herself up higher until she hovered over him. "I guess we just need to make the most of tonight then."

o-o-o

"Hey, Karen, what's up?" Claire greeted, tucking the phone between her head and shoulder as she continued to fold the laundry spread across her bed.

"_Nothing much,_" Karen replied. "_Just had some time and thought I'd give you a call. I heard from Zach the other day. He said he saw you and Owen._"

"Yeah, we all had dinner together," Claire confirmed. "I feel kind of bad that I haven't been able to spend much time with him. I know I promised you–"

"_It's fine. He seems to be really enjoying himself there. Did you know he's actually been texting me without me having to text first? He's never done that before._"

"He's growing up," Claire said. "Told you coming here would be a good experience for him."

"_You did,_" Karen conceded. "_So Owen was back. Is he still there?_"

"No, he was only able to get away for a short visit," Claire replied, her cheerfulness dropping. He'd only gone back home yesterday, but it already felt like a long time ago, not at all helped by the fact that she didn't know when he was going to be able to come back.

"_That sucks_," Karen sympathized. "_Did you have a good visit?_"

"Yeah, I guess," Claire shrugged. She dropped the shirt she was folding onto the bed, before turning to sit down. "I just…"

"_What's wrong Claire? Are you… did something happen?_"

"Yes. No. I don't know," Claire fell backwards onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "What am I doing, Karen?"

"_With Owen?_"

"With my life."

"_This again? Claire, I thought you were past this. What happened now?_"

"Nothing," Claire sighed, rolling onto her side while tugging the nearest pillow towards her. "I don't know. I just feel so lost. I thought things were getting better. They _were_ getting better. I had Owen. I was going to find a way out from the Indoraptors. I felt like I finally had Simon's respect and now…" She growled loudly in annoyance before trying to focus on the phone again. "It's just not the same anymore, Kar."

"_What about that new project you were working on? How's it going? Didn't you say you were breaking ground last month_?"

"We did a few weeks ago," Claire confirmed. "It's… going. I want to like it. I think it's a good idea. Most of the time I'm actually excited for what we're doing. The guy was out the other day. And he just… he made a comment, that probably means nothing and I'm sure I'm overthinking it, but then I mentioned it to Owen and he–" She cut herself off with another growl, the whole situation just making her frustration and anxiety rise.

"_What did he say?_"

"It wasn't really what he said," Claire groaned. "He just planted a seed of doubt and I can't seem to get rid of it." She squeezed her eyes closed in frustration for a long moment, before asking the question she was dreading the answer to the most. "I should've left, shouldn't I? After the Indoraptors, I mean. I should've immediately looked for another job. I should've had my resume on everyone's desk."

She braced herself for Karen's response, not sure what she really wanted to hear. For as much time she'd spent contemplating the question herself, she never felt any closer to an answer. Everytime she thought she was ready to just throw in the towel, to call Simon up and say "I quit," it was the thought of what she'd do next that would cause her to freeze. Her entire career had been spent there, on Nublar. Being there was more than just her job, it was her life.

"_I can't answer that_," Karen replied. "_Only you know for sure. But, I don't think you could've._"

"What do you mean?"

"_Claire, you love your job. You love that island. You love Owen. I don't think you could've walked away from all that. And even now, as frustrated as you are, deep down, I don't think you want to. It's been a lot of change in a short amount of time. Owen's no longer around. You said the lab stuff moved too, right? You've got this big new project that you're pinning a lot of hopes on. No wonder you're feeling stressed and anxious. It's normal. And it's going to get better. You just gotta give it time._"

"When did you become so wise?" Claire pushed back up, staring at the pile of laundry still laying on her bed.

"_Try raising two kids and going through a divorce. After that, most problems start to feel minor._"

"How are _you_ doing?" Claire asked, wincing with the sudden realization that every time she seemed to talk to Karen recently, it was always about her own problems and she never seemed to ask how her sister was doing.

"_Actually, things are going pretty good here_," Karen said. "_I know Gray's disappointed we aren't coming out this summer, but he got into that science enrichment program thing he applied for, so there wouldn't have been time anyway._"

"And you and Jake?" Claire got up, returning to folding her laundry.

"_Still good,_" Karen confirmed.

"It's been a while now, right? Think you might have found the one?"

"_Ugh, I don't think you can talk about 'the one' after a divorce,_" Karen groaned. "_I always thought Scott was that. But… yeah, I'm hopeful that things might work out here. I'm trying not to focus on that, not now. Instead, just focusing on having a good time_."

"Lucky," Claire said, picking up a pile of clothes and taking them over to the dresser.

"_You should focus on that too, you know_," Karen replied. "_If Owen can't make it back as often as you hoped, you're industrious. Surely you can come up with reasons to get yourself back over to Sorna._"

"That's true," Claire said slowly, her mind whirling. With the eggs incubating and the lab on Sorna, she probably _could_ come up with reasons for a visit. It's just too bad that there was no privacy out there. And it would be nice if it felt like he was putting in the same effort.

"_Hey, Claire? I gotta go,_" Karen said. "_Jake just got here and we're going to a movie._"

"Yeah, sure," Claire said. "I'll talk to you later."

"_Love you, Claire. You're going to get through this._"

"Thanks, love you too." Hanging up the phone, Claire turned back and looked at Owen's side of the bed and then to the photo of the two of them on the nightstand. Hopefully her sister was right and everything was going to be okay.

* * *

_I'm working on chapter 18 right now and just realized that chapter 17 in IC was pretty pivotal and 17 in PUP is going to be too. Here's your warning. :P _

_Don't forget to let me know what you think. :)_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"Oh good, you're both here," Hoskins said, causing Owen and Barry to look up from where they had both been engrossed in their laptops.

"Where else would we be?" Owen asked, with a quick glance out the window.

It had been pouring all day long and the whole area was feeling like a giant mud pit. While he wasn't against training the raptors in the rain (and had done so on numerous occasions), he'd decided to give them the day off after a long week and instead spend some time going through old reports. He was trying to see if he could find a pattern in their behaviour, something that might help him understand Echo's recent reluctance to participate in any drills near the North wall.

"Ha ha," Hoskins said dryly, sauntering into the room. This time he didn't try to sit anywhere, choosing to stand facing them both. "I've got news."

Owen stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue. He hated that Hoskins often tried to turn basic announcements into big events. He (and Barry) preferred to just force Hoskins to have to tell them without theatrics.

"Henry's starting on a new batch of raptors," Hoskins finally announced, a look of annoyance on his face over their lack of enthusiasm.

"What?" Owen's jaw dropped.

"_Pourquoi_?" Barry said at the same time, looking stunned.

"But the field test was a success," Owen protested. "The raptors are doing so much better. Things have been looking up."

"It wasn't a success," Hoskins argued. "They didn't come back. They got distracted."

"They completed more than 50% of their objective. On the first try!"

"Is that what your bar for success is? Fifty percent?" Hoskins scoffed, clearly enjoying the shock on Owen and Barry's faces. "This is not simply pass-fail. That's not good enough."

"It was their first time out there. They'd never seen a puma before," Owen said. "You know as well as I do that it's all about incremental progress. And this was a great first step. And it was more than a single step."

"We're making another batch," Hoskins repeated. "It's been decided."

"What are you going to do with the girls?" Barry asked, voicing the concern that Owen couldn't bring himself to put into words.

"We're going to keep them," Hoskins replied. "For now."

Owen's jaw dropped, again. For now? What the hell did that mean? How long was "for now?" And how had Hoskisn got permission to create more? He was sure that he remembered there being something about InGen only being allowed four raptors. "Wait, I thought there was an agreement that there couldn't be more than four?"

"That doesn't apply anymore," Hoskins said, brushing Owen's question aside with obvious glee. "We're not on Nublar anymore."

"What does that mean?" Barry pressed.

"The agreement with Jurassic World was that InGen would limit the raptor project to four," Hoskins explained, although not all that patiently. "But that agreement was specific to Nublar. They didn't want too many raptors near the guests. But, we're on Sorna now, so that no longer applies."

"But you were talking about creating a new batch before we moved here," Owen reminded him. "How was that going to work?"

"If they took on the raptors, then we would've been within our rights to create a new batch. It's not that there can't be more raptors on Nublar, just that _InGen_ can't have more than four," Hoskins answered. "But it doesn't matter anymore. Like I said, we're within our rights to create as many as we want here."

"So why make new ones now? I don't buy that the field test wasn't successful enough," Owen pushed, confused.

"There's only three now. And one of them has that injury–"

"That 'injury' is _your _fault," Owen cut him off. "Charlie would be perfectly healthy, and we'd still have Delta, if _you_ hadn't let them out of the cage."

"If I hadn't let them out, probably none of us would be here," Hoskins countered. "But it doesn't matter. What happened, happened. And sooner or later you're going to reach their new limits. You already have, in some cases. You can no longer do the team drills you had been running. Not with three. But," Hoskins shrugged, "it takes time for them to grow. The longer we delay on starting a new batch, the farther behind we'll fall."

"And when they get older?" Barry asked. "What happens then?"

"I guess that depends on how things go," Hoskins said after a moment. "We have time to figure that out."

"You're not going to suggest using them as parents again?" Owen wasn't really sure why he was asking the question. It was something he was still strongly against. If Hoskins hadn't already thought about it, he didn't want to be reminding him of his past position.

"We thought about it," Hoskins confirmed. "But, we want you to keep on working with them. We decided it'd be too much of an interruption. And with there only being three… Well, if we took one, then you'd barely have a pack left."

Owen nodded slowly, hating that he was in agreement (for once) with Hoskins, and mostly surprised that Hoskins seemed to have actually thought all of this through. There had to be an angle that he was missing.

"Who's going to look after the new batch? Are you bringing on another behaviourist? More trainers?" Barry asked.

"Why would we do that?" Hoskins replied, feigning surprise. "We've got you two."

"You expect us to manage two packs?" Owen said, his jaw dropping for the third time. He wasn't sure why he was surprised, really. He knew it had been sounding too easy. For a moment, he thought he must have heard Hoskins wrong. The man couldn't possibly be serious. "Do you know how much work just one pack is? How are we supposed to have time for two?"

"Clearly you have extra time on your hands. You've never been as on top of your reports as you have been these last couple of months," Hoskins said simply.

"Because there's nothing else to do here," Owen said, annoyed.

"Well, now there will be," Hoskins replied with a careless shrug. "You'll sort it out. You've been mentioning giving the raptors more downtime anyway. Now you'll have something to fill that time."

"Do you not remember how much work baby raptors are?" Barry asked. "We were practically sleeping at the paddock the first couple of months."

"It'll be different this time," Hoskins said, his tone dismissive. "For one thing, you already know what to expect."

"And for another?" Owen asked, suspicious.

"And for another, like you said — there's nothing else to do here. Now you won't be bored." And with that, Hoskins left.

Groaning, Owen squeezed his eyes closed, before thumping a fist against his desk. "Dammit."

"_Merde_," Barry agreed as he scrubbed a hand down his face. "Four _more_ raptors? There goes any vacation time."

"Like we were getting any before," Owen bemoaned, leaning back in his chair, his palms pressed to his eyes. "In two months I've seen Claire twice, for less than three days total. And here I was hoping things were going to start to settle soon and we could work out something so we could both start getting back to Nublar more regularly."

o-o-o

"_You won't believe what Hoskins told me today_."

Claire was only half listening to Owen as she was still stuck at work and trying to make her way through her inbox. From the moment she'd picked up the phone, she'd been able to tell from his tone that he just needed to vent. That was fine, he could do that and she could just give an occasional 'hm' and 'yeah' while mostly staying focused on her work. Which was what she'd been doing.

"_They're going to create a new batch of raptors. Can you believe it?_"

"Mmhmm," Claire said, hitting reply and opening up the next email.

"_You can?_" Owen's surprised tone caught Claire's attention, and she looked up from her laptop. "_He said you guys can't even stop it. That because we're on Sorna now, the old rules don't apply._"

"Stop what?" Claire asked, realizing that she must have missed something pretty big.

"_The raptors_," Owen said simply, which wasn't all that helpful.

She frowned. "What's he trying to do to them now?"

There was a short pause and then: "_Have you been paying attention to anything I've said?_"

"Um, yes?" Claire winced at her own reply, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry, Owen. I've got this pile of emails I need to get through. What happened? What's Hoskins doing to the raptors?"

"_They're making more,_" Owen sighed. "_He's now claiming that the field test wasn't successful enough. That–_"

"Wait, what's he going to do with _your_ raptors?" Claire interrupted as she sat up straight in her chair. She knew how expensive they were to take care of, and that part of what had held InGen back in the past was not wanting to double their costs. That had been the reason they had debated either selling them to Jurassic World or possibly putting them down. "Is he talking about…?"

"_No, thankfully,_" Owen was quick to reassure her. "_He's now talking about keeping them _and _adding more. That we should learn what we still can from my girls, but that the focus would shift to these new ones as they grow. I think he still thinks we'll be able to train a new group a lot faster now._"

"Wait, that _you'll_ be able to train them?" Claire asked slowly, a looming sense of dread creeping up. "_You're_ taking on another set of raptors?"

"_Well…_" his reply was drawn out, and Claire could feel herself tensing as she waited for his response. "_There wasn't really a choice._"

"There's _always_ a choice," she disagreed.

"_Not this time_," he said simply.

"Why? What would happen if you said no?"

"_Claire_," his voice sounded tired, and she felt a little bad. But… she barely saw him as it was. A second batch of raptors?

"I'm never going to see you again, am I?" she half-asked, half-stated, turning and looking out at the park. It was a bright and sunny afternoon, but it felt like a rain cloud was settling over her, her mood darkening by the second.

"_I–_"

She could picture him wincing, probably scrubbing at his jaw as he struggled with what to say.

"I thought with the increased sailings you'd come home more," she continued as if he hadn't tried to say anything. "You keep saying this is your home, but you never seem to want to be here."

"_It _is _my home. I came back for a visit two weeks ago. It's just that my job needs me to be here, on Sorna._"

"And _I_ need you to be here." She hadn't meant to say that, but the moment the words were out, she was sort of glad she had, even if her breath was now caught in her throat as she waited for him to reply.

There was a long stretch of silence. Claire reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, her eyes closing. Part of her wanted to take the words back, except… they were the truth. She needed him to be around more. But not just that, she also needed to know that he _wanted_ to be around, that he was as committed to making their relationship work as she was. She understood that work often had to come first — she was more than guilty of that herself — but she just wished she didn't always feel like she came in a distant second.

"_You were the one who told me to go,_" Owen finally said. "_My girls… I raised them, Claire. I can't just walk away from them. I have to be here. They're my responsibility._"

"I'm–" Claire cut herself off, not wanting to say what she was thinking. Afraid she'd finally end up asking the question that had been haunting her thoughts, that his girls were worth staying for, but that she wasn't worth the same effort.

"_Maybe you can come over here, more_," he suggested after another long stretch of silence. "_I mean, Wu's here. You used to visit the lab a lot._"

"It's not about seeing you for ten seconds or sharing the odd meal," she replied, trying to tamp down the anger she could feel rising in her. She probably could increase her visits to Sorna, and she probably would, once the current batch of eggs hatched, but it would never be the same as him coming back to Nublar. Visiting him on Sorna also wasn't the same as having a life together. And it didn't make sense for her visits there to ever be for more than a few hours at a time. She couldn't — wouldn't — use company resources just so she could have some time with her boyfriend. Grasping for something to say, she finally fell back on another thought that she'd been thinking about a lot recently. "You were the one who asked to move in together."

"_It wasn't my choice to move the raptors to Sorna,_" he said, his voice sounding strained. "_I didn't ask for this to happen. I don't know what you want me to do. I can't just quit my job…"_

"I'm not asking you to quit," she replied quietly. "I'm just asking–I'm just wondering when I'll see you. This is all just sounding less and less temporary. In fact, it's starting to sound pretty damn permanent."

There was another long pause before he spoke again.

"_Claire… They're going to create these raptors no matter what. That's happening. They need a behaviourist. We know what happens when these animals aren't properly trained._"

"It doesn't have to be you. They could hire someone else."

"_Yeah, well… look what happened last time they tried that._"

Claire had to bite her tongue to prevent the first words that came to mind in response to that. It wasn't that his comment wasn't true. Or even that it wasn't fair. But it still hurt. They had tried. _James_ had tried. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I don't get why it has to be you. What about Barry? Why can't he take them on."

"_Barry's not a behaviourist, you know that,_" Owen's tone was weary. "_But that doesn't matter anyway, we work as a team. He'll be involved with the next batch, too._"

She stared out at the park, watching the colourful streams of people as they made their way up and down Main Street, at the sunlight reflecting off the water of the lagoon, at Mt. Sibo towering in the background. All the happy people going about their happy lives. And most of them surrounded by their families.

"_Claire?_" Owen asked tentatively, when she didn't respond.

"I've gotta go," she finally said, turning away from the window and looking across her office at the door, not even feeling guilty about the lie as she said it. "I've got a meeting."

"_Wait–_"

"I'll talk to you later. Bye." She hung up the phone without waiting for his response. She didn't want to say something she'd regret.

Pushing her laptop away, she folded her arms on her desk before resting her head on them, taking a few deep breaths, unshed tears sitting hot behind her eyes. She gave herself a couple of minutes before she forced herself to pull it together.

This was why she'd always hated relationships. Relationships meant relying on other people. And relying on other people just gave them the power to let you down. It was time she stopped assuming that Owen was always going to be there, that their _relationship_ was always going to be there. She needed to find herself again. To regain her own strength. She'd done it before, she could do it again.

o-o-o

Walking down the dock, Owen found himself searching the area, hoping to see Claire, even though there was no reason for her to be there, considering he hadn't even told her he was coming home.

After their fight the other week, he'd been trying to figure out what he could do to make amends. He'd known as he soon as the words were coming out of his mouth that she was going to take them the wrong way (not that there was really any other way to interpret them). Not only that, but he'd known after his last visit, that she was struggling with the separation at least as much as he was, and possibly even more. It had been stupid of him to act like she wasn't trying hard enough.

While they'd continued to have their nightly phone calls, it hadn't felt the same, and he had started to think the only way to fix it was to actually talk face-to-face. And since he was _not_ going to suggest she come out to visit him for that to happen, he had known that he needed to get back to Nublar. If that wasn't enough, his frustration and anger and unease over everything had been spilling into his work, and it had been Barry who had finally pushed him to just go.

So here he was. Back on Nublar. And only now realizing that not only did Claire not know he was coming, but he had no idea what her schedule was like for the next couple of days. With him not around, there would be no reason for her to not have scheduled dinner meetings or to have made other plans. He should've contacted Zara and asked her to free up some time on Claire's schedule.

Except… he didn't really want to have to tell Zara what was going on. He could just imagine how mad Claire would be at him if she hadn't already told her assistant. And if she _had_, well, he didn't want to put Zara in the position of being stuck in the middle. It was better to keep it between just him and Claire as much as possible.

Although… that didn't mean he couldn't figure out if she had plans. Pulling out his phone, he sent off a quick text: **Can you do dinner tonight?** It was a question they had both texted multiple times since he'd moved to Sorna. They would eat dinner together while on speaker phone (unfortunately video calls from Sorna were notoriously unreliable), trying to pretend they weren't so far apart.

**Yes. 7?**

**Sure. **As he replied, he looked around the area again. There was another issue without Claire there to greet him — he didn't actually have a way back to the main resort, as there was no monorail stop near the north docks. Spotting an ACU member he knew, he flagged the guy down and asked for a ride.

Ten minutes later as he entered their condo, Owen could feel some of the nervous energy he'd been carrying start to melt away. Just being there, amidst their stuff, he felt… home. The thought felt a little bit corny (it _was_ their home, after all), but it made him feel like everything was going to be all right.

He hadn't brought much with him — there really was no need to, considering most of his stuff was still there in their condo — and so he had nothing to unpack. As it was only mid-afternoon, and with Claire not knowing he was there, he wasn't really sure what he should do. He debated taking his motorcycle out, but he also didn't know when Claire would be done for the day and he wanted to make sure that he was there when she got home.

Wandering into the kitchen, he picked up an apple off the counter and took a bite as he started looking through the cupboards and fridge. Maybe he could make something for dinner. He wasn't a great cook, but he wasn't bad, either. He was unsurprised to find the cupboards pretty bare and the fridge even emptier. He knew her routine. Claire usually grabbed a piece of fruit on her way out the door in the morning, before stopping by Starbucks as she headed to the office. Lunch was either a business meeting or she and Zara would go and grab something. And if she didn't have a dinner meeting, a lot of the time she ended up either picking up something on her way home or ordering in. She rarely took the time to make meals at home. Not that the island was the best place to do so — getting access to regular groceries was difficult, as everything had to be brought over, and it wasn't economical for Jurassic World to be stocking most pantry staples. Not when most of the employees housed on the island lived in dorm-style housing, and lacked access to kitchens. Instead, most of the 'groceries' available were closer to what you could find in most hotel stores around the world — stuff that came in single servings and at most needed a microwave.

As he was debating if he should just order something in for dinner, he stepped on the garbage can pedal to throw away his apple core. He was about to turn away when he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't sure what it was that had flagged his attention, but he opened the garbage again. Then, reaching in gingerly, he pulled out a small box, his face paling as he read the label.

ClearBlue.

A pregnancy test.

Claire was pregnant?

Why hadn't she said something?

Was _that_ why she'd been so on edge the past week?

Sinking down onto one of the chairs at the small kitchen table, he carefully placed the box in front of him. A baby? They'd never even talked about kids. Did _Claire_ want kids? Did _he_?

Owen knew that Claire's relationship with her nephews had improved greatly, and that she'd come a long way from the first time he'd ever seen her interacting with them. All of this was even more evident by the fact that he knew she and Zach got together for dinner every other week. But, well, her nephews were _teens_. Of course, he knew lots of people wanted their own kids even when they didn't really like other kids.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, staring at the box, but the next thing he knew, he could hear the front door opening. He scrambled to his feet and quickly shoved the box back into the garbage can, pushing it down and hopefully out of sight. He wouldn't say anything until she told him.

"Who's there?" Claire called out nervously from near the front door. "I'm going to call security."

"Just me," Owen said, hurrying out of the kitchen to greet her, wiping his hands against his pants.

"Owen?" He watched as her jaw dropped open in surprise. "What are you doing here? Wait, did you tell me you were coming? Did I forget? Or, oh!" Her eyes grew wide and panicked. "Did something happen? Are you okay?"

She was at his side in a second, scanning him from head to toe, although he wasn't sure what she was expecting to find.

"I'm fine," he reassured her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I just… after last week, I just needed–"

"Needed what?" Claire interrupted, her face paling instantly.

"Just needed to see you," Owen said, suddenly concerned by her reaction. Why did she look so worried by him being there? Did she _not_ want him there? "Is it okay? Me being here, I mean? Do you have plans?" He looked back towards the entrance, but there was no one else standing there.

"Okay? It's more than okay," she replied, quickly stepping towards him and finally greeting him with a hug and a quick kiss. "I just wasn't expecting to see you today. Are _you_ sure everything's okay? You're looking kind of pale. Are you sick?"

"I'm fine, I promise," he reassured her. He made a show of glancing at his watch. "You're home early. I was going to sort out something for dinner before you got here."

"Decided to call it an early night," she said. "Was feeling a bit tired."

His gaze shot over his shoulder at that remark, back into the kitchen, back to where the box was. Tired? Oh god, he swallowed heavily. Was that a pregnancy thing? He quickly tried to think over everything he knew about pregnancy and found that he mostly came up empty. He was pretty sure he'd heard the woman could be tired, and something about backaches or sore feet (although he thought that came later). And, of course, cravings. But besides those? He was going to need to buy a book.

"We can have an early night," he offered, not really sure what to say. "What do you feel like eating? There wasn't much in the fridge."

"Something simple? Maybe sandwiches? I'm not all that hungry," she shrugged, moving past him towards their bedroom. "I'm just going to get changed into something more comfortable."

"Sure, no problem," Owen nodded. "BLT?"

"Yeah," Claire said, disappearing through the doorway. A moment later she called out, "Can you get them to add pickles?"

"Um, okay," he replied, picking up his phone to make the call. Pickles? On a BLT?

He was in the middle of placing their order and asking for the pickles, when it hit him. Wasn't that a pregnancy thing, too? Odd food combinations and cravings? He stumbled through the rest of the order and was standing at the kitchen counter when Claire rejoined him. She was wearing one of his t-shirts and a pair of baggy pajama pants.

"Are _you_ feeling okay?" he asked, taking in her outfit. It was not that he wasn't used to seeing her in similar ones, but it was barely even 5:30.

"I'm fine," she said, moving past him to reach into the cupboard and pull out a wine glass. "Do you want some wine? Or, actually," she turned towards the fridge, "do we have any beer? That might be better."

"Uh, no, no beer," Owen moved in front of her, blocking the fridge. Alcohol? What was she thinking? Should he say something? "What about…" he looked around frantically, "water?"

"Water? It's been a long day," Claire said, giving him a confused look before she turned back to the wine glass she'd pulled out and grabbing the bottle of red that was sitting on the counter. She opened it up and poured herself a glass. "Do you want some?"

Did he? Owen wasn't really sure what to say. What was he supposed to do? "Um…"

When he didn't say anything she turned back to him, picking up her glass and taking a sip while studying him. "Why are you really here?"

The question caught Owen off guard. "What do you mean?"

"This is only the second time you've been back here," Claire said, her gaze darting away from him. "You haven't wanted to come back before. Why now?"

"I haven't…" Owen sputtered, unsure how to respond to that.

Turning around, he opened the fridge to look for the beer he'd seen earlier. If this was where their conversation was starting, he was definitely going to need to be drinking, too. Pulling one out, he opened it up, gulping down half of it in a single swallow as he leaned against the fridge door.

"I thought you said we had no beer?" Claire was looking at him with her brows furrowed now.

"I–we…" he sighed, downing the rest, before placing the now empty bottle on the counter near him.

"Seriously, Owen, what's going on?" Claire's gaze was searching his now. "Are… are _we_ okay?"

God, why _had_ he come home? He should've just stayed on Sorna. At least there he didn't know about the pregnancy test and he wouldn't have all these conflicting thoughts flying through his head. He was trying to figure out an answer when she took another sip of her wine.

"Are you sure you should be drinking that?" The words were out before he could pull them back.

"This?" Claire held up her glass in question. "What's wrong with it?"

"Just…" Should he tell her that he knew? His gaze almost darted towards the garbage can, but he managed to keep it focused on her.

A heavy knock on the door interrupted them, and he hid his sigh of relief as he hurried out of the kitchen. "That'll be our food."

Accepting the bag from the delivery attendant, he carried it back into the kitchen and over to the table where Claire had set out plates. She was standing by the fridge, looking for something.

"Do you want another beer?" she asked, as he pulled their sandwiches out of the bag and placed them onto each plate.

"Sure," he said, moving back to the counter to grab a couple of napkins.

A couple moments later they were both sitting at the table and Owen realized he'd never, in all the years he'd ever known Claire — and not even on their horrible first date — felt as uncomfortable around her as he did right now. He slowly unwrapped his meatball sub, trying to act like everything was normal. Once it was unwrapped, he stared at it for a long moment and then let out a heavy sigh. Resting his elbows on the table, he buried his face in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Claire asked immediately, and he just shook his head, unsure how to voice his thoughts. It wasn't even just the pregnancy worries that were flooding his mind, after all. He didn't understand how she was able to act like everything was just normal, just fine, after their last call. Was she not feeling as torn up about it as he was?

He didn't hear her move, but suddenly there was a hand resting on his back rubbing comforting circles, before drifting up to run through his hair. He closed his eyes, letting himself just enjoy the sensation.

"Owen?" Claire asked, her voice soft. She ran her hand through his hair a few more times before she spoke again. "You're worrying me."

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice muffled by his hands. He forced himself to take a deep breath, before sitting back up, and turning to face her. "It's been a really long week."

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" she asked, her hand resting on the back of his neck, gently massaging the muscles there.

He wished that was true, but it didn't feel like it right now. How could he bring up the pregnancy test when he still hadn't gotten his own thoughts sorted out about it? And while he'd come back so that they could talk about their fight, he now just felt overcome with exhaustion. He wasn't sure he could deal with any of this right now.

"You do know that, don't you?" she asked when he didn't respond.

He gave a quick nod, before saying, "Yeah, of course."

She continued to look at him intently for a long moment, before apparently deciding to accept what he was saying and not push any further. She pulled her hand away before walking back to her seat and sitting down and picking up her sandwich and taking a bite.

He watched as she chewed, waiting for her to make a face or make a comment about the pickles, but she didn't. Instead, she swallowed and took another bite.

"What?" Claire asked after she had swallowed again. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know… almost in like a horrid fascination. What did I do? Do I have something on my face?" She picked up her napkin and wiped her mouth.

"No, nothing," he reassured her, before he scrunched up his face in disgust. "It's just… pickles, really?"

"It's actually really good," Claire said. "Want to try?" She held out her sandwich but he quickly shook his head 'no.'

Picking up his own sandwich, Owen finally took a bite as well, chewing it slowly. For a while, they sat in mostly silence as they ate.

"I've missed this," Claire said as she picked up the second half of her sandwich.

Owen finished chewing and swallowed before he asked, "Missed what?"

"Just having dinner together. You know, doing something… normal."

"We had dinner together a couple of nights ago," he reminded her, before taking another bite.

"Yeah, but that's not the same," she shook her head. "Don't get me wrong, I like that we do that and it's better than not, but… this, getting to sit at the same table, to actually _see_ each other, to not have to worry about the call dropping, to know I can reach out and…" She looked away, a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "It's almost sort of… domestic?"

He hadn't expected her to use that word, and his startled gasp was involuntary. Which would've been fine, except he was still chewing a mouthful of food, and he immediately started coughing, his eyes stinging. When he finally managed to get it somewhat under control, he reached for his drink and took a large swallow. However, he'd forgotten he was drinking beer, and the carbonation immediately sent him into a second coughing fit.

"Here," Claire said and he looked up to see she had set a glass of water down in front of him. "But drink it slowly," she warned, when he picked it up.

"Thanks," he told her when he finally got his breathing back under control.

"What did I say?" she asked, looking at him curiously as she sat back down in her seat.

"Um…" Owen's eyes went wide as he searched for a distraction. He didn't want to explain why the word _domestic _has set him off. After all, it was not like he _didn't_ want domestic with her. It was just that he didn't think he was ready for kids. Was that what she'd been thinking about this past week?

"Okay, that's it," Claire said firmly as one of her hands slapped against the table. Owen jumped in his seat, his gaze flying back to hers. "Something's going on. Why won't you tell me? Why are you acting like this?"

Owen couldn't help himself, his gaze darting towards the garbage can for a long moment. He finally tore his gaze away when he heard Claire's chair squeak as she pushed it back and he jumped up out of his chair when he saw that she was walking over to to it. He tried to get between her the garbage, before resorting to putting his hand on the lid and pushing down when she deftly evaded him.

"What are you hiding?" Claire asked and he was relieved that she was looking at him curiously and not concerned or angry.

"I… I wasn't snooping," the words flew out of his mouth as if he was a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Really, I wasn't trying to…"

He trailed off, but lifted his hand, letting Claire finally open the garbage. There was a brief pause, and then she reached in and pulled out the pregnancy test box that he apparently hadn't done a good job of hiding earlier. His mouth went dry as she held up the box, an eyebrow raised in question and he simply nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"It's not mine," she told him calmly, before dropping the box back into the garbage. "I wouldn't hide something like that from you."

"It's not?" he asked dumbly as he focused on her, not sure he had heard her correctly.

"It's not mine," she repeated.

"Really?"

"You think I'd lie about something like that?" she said, throwing her hands up in the air. "Not. Mine."

There was a long stretch of silence, as Owen didn't know what to say, and continued to just stand there, his mouth occasionally opening as he tried to find the words, before clamping shut again.

It was Claire who ended up speaking first. "Are you disappointed?" she asked softly.

"About the test?" he finally looked up, meeting her gaze. She nodded. "No. I'm… I don't really know what I think about kids, to be honest."

"Me, either," she agreed.

"Who's test was it?" he asked, his curiosity now getting a hold of him.

"Zara's."

"Zara's pregnant?!"

"No, she just thought she might be and didn't want to take it at home. Don't say anything to anyone. No one else knows about the test except us," Claire replied.

"Not even Alec?"

"No, she was going to surprise him if it was true, but… since it wasn't, she didn't want to say anything."

"Oh."

"I'd tell you, you know? I wouldn't hide something like that from you," Claire told him again.

"I know," Owen nodded. He was silent for a minute, his thoughts still racing.

"Something's clearly still bugging you," she said after a long moment, her gaze studying him. "Do you want to finally tell me why you're here? Why now? And with no notice?"

"I keep thinking about our fight last week," he admitted.

"It wasn't a fight," she immediately disagreed.

"Argument, difference of opinions, whatever you want to call it. The label doesn't matter." He focused on her, making sure to catch her gaze and hold it before stating clearly: "I love you. I miss you. I want to be here. I want to be with you. And I hate that my job has me over on Sorna." He reached over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, continuing to hold her gaze. "But, I love my job. The same way you love yours. I know I haven't been doing a good job of balancing the two. But you need to know, it's _not_ because I don't want to be here or because I don't want to be with you."

He watched as she looked down. He felt like he could see the gears turning as she mulled over his words. When it didn't appear that she was going to say anything immediately, he moved to step back, but she reached for him, a hand clutching at his shirt, holding him in place.

"I love you and I miss you, too," she said, finally looking up. "I just don't want to lose you."

"Lose me?" He was startled by her comment. Was that what she was feeling? That she was losing him?

"I know when you came back, I didn't have much time to see you," she said, now avoiding his gaze. "And that my work often gets in the way. I just… I worry that you're going to realize…" she trailed off, but her hand was now fisting his shirt, twisting it tightly, as if afraid he was about to disappear.

"Claire," Owen said, reaching out and tilting her chin up until she was looking at him. "I want _you_. I'm not looking for someone else. I'm not bored. Or tired of this. Or…or anything like that. I wish I could be here everyday to show you that. It _sucks_ that our jobs right now mean I can't. But it doesn't change how I feel about you. I _need_ you to know that." He lifted his hand to brush away the tears that were starting to slip down her cheeks. "Whoa, what's this about?"

"I'm sorry," Claire said, stepping closer and leaning her forehead against his shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay," he said softly, shaking his head. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him, one hand slowly sliding up and down her back. "I know it's been a crazy year. And I know it's going to get crazier in a bit, but, I'm here for you, okay? I promise to try to do better. I had been hoping to work out a schedule with Barry, arrange something so I could come back more frequently before Hoskins dropped his latest news. But I'll see what we can do. There's gotta be something." He pulled back just a bit so he could plant a kiss on her forehead.

Her arms reached up to wrap around his neck, tugging him down towards her, and pulling him into a kiss. It started out slow, both of them trying to express everything they were feeling through it. It didn't take long before it got hungrier, as their heightened emotions countered their ability to stay in control. Stepping back, Owen tugged Claire with him towards their bedroom. The rest of their dinner could wait.

* * *

_FYI, that is the *closest* this story will come to them having babies. So... sorry to potentially disappoint some of you. I'm just not a fan of writing babies or pregnancies. _ ️

_As always, I'd love to hear any thoughts you'd like to share. It's been a pretty crappy few weeks here, so any good news would be gratefully appreciated. _


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Can I ask you something? **

The message on his phone gave Owen pause, and he leaned back in his chair at his desk, unsure how to reply. If it wasn't for Claire's organization, he wouldn't have even known who the message was from, but she had added Zach's contact information to his phone the moment she'd confirmed Zach was going to be headed back to Nublar. Clearly, she'd also given Zach Owen's information, too.

But… what would Zach need to ask him about? Except for their encounter out at his lot, Owen had never actually talked with him just one-on-one before.

Realization struck him, and he could feel a ball of dread growing in his stomach. Oh god, it wouldn't be something about a girl, would it? He did _not_ want to be involved in giving Zach girl advice. And he definitely didn't want to know if there was a… problem. Surely, Zach could reach out to his aunt for that.

Still staring at his phone, Owen debated texting Claire and asking her what to do. Except, if it _was_ something embarrassing (for Zach or for him), he wasn't sure he wanted to bring Claire in. Not when he knew how much she'd been working to build an actual relationship with her nephews. If Zach had wanted to ask Claire, he would've texted her, not him.

**What's up?** Owen finally texted back, before placing the phone back on his desk. He turned back to his laptop, where he'd been in the middle of recording the progress from the day's training and figuring out a plan for tomorrow, when his phone had originally interrupted him. He barely managed to find his place in the document, when his phone buzzed again.

**How did you know what you wanted to do?**

**What do you mean? **Owen texted back. Immediately he could see the three dots indicating Zach was replying, and he gave up on trying to work, just waiting for the next message.

**Your job. Being an animal behaviourist. How did you decide to do that?**

Before he could help himself, he let out a sigh of relief, glad that Zach wasn't reaching out about girl problems. Owen's gaze immediately darted around the office and out the open doorway, but no one was around. He could see that Zach was still typing, but he wrote back anyway. As much as he preferred texting to making calls, this seemed like a discussion that would be much easier on the phone. **Are you free right now? Can I call you?**

**Um… sure?**

Owen tapped on call and then shifted his chair back a bit more, so he could swing his feet up to rest on the desk as he leaned back.

"_Hey_," Zach answered, sounding a bit nervous. "_You wanted to talk?_"

"Hey," Owen greeted. He almost replied with a comment about how Zach was the one who had reached out first, but decided the teen sounded nervous enough and he didn't want to scare him off. "I just thought this might be easier to discuss over the phone. What's going on?"

"_Nothing_," Zach replied immediately, but Owen waited him out, and after a couple of moments, he heard Zach sigh before he continued. "_I don't know. I just… I was hanging out with some friends today. We took one of the park's jeeps out, and it broke down._"

"Are you guys okay?" Owen asked, when Zach paused.

"_Yeah, it was nothing. Just a flat tire. I replaced it with the spare in the back. It's just…_"

"What does this have to do with my job?" Owen asked, his brow furrowed, not quite following Zach's thought process.

"_I'm at university to get my BCom,_" Zach told him. "_Did Aunt Claire tell you that?_" He didn't wait for Owen to reply. "_To be honest, I didn't know _what _to pick, just that I had to pick _something_, and that seemed… fine. I mean, business, what's not to like?_"

"Plenty, if you ask me," Owen replied, before his brain caught up with him. He'd taken a couple of business classes during his degree and all they had taught him was that, nope, that was _not_ where he wanted to do.

Thankfully, Zach didn't seem offended, laughing at Owen's reponse. "_Yeah, I kind of agree. I mean, this past year was fine. Good, even. The classes weren't hard or anything, it's just…_"

"Just what?" Owen asked, when Zach trailed off again.

"_I just… You know, I applied for this internship because I thought it'd be nice to get away for the summer. To come back here for a few months. I thought I'd maybe get to work with the raptors or—_"

"Ha," Owen couldn't help himself, interrupting Zach. "No offense, Zach, but even if the raptors were still back on Nublar, you wouldn't have been working with them. We don't take on interns. Trust me, we've been there and done _that_. Not a good idea."

"_None taken,_" Zach replied with a sigh, but this time Owen could hear mild frustration in his voice. "_Aunt Claire said she doesn't have anything to do with job assignments anyway. I just… I didn't expect it to be so _boring_. I mean, I might as well be working at a kiosk in the mall back home. It's no different._"

"Except you're on Nublar and not at home," Owen reminded him.

He leaned forward in his chair, picking up the rubber ball that was still sitting on his desk, before leaning back again. Holding his phone between his ear and his shoulder, he started tossing the ball into the air, waiting Zach out.

"_That's true,_" Zach agreed, after a moment. "_I just… fixing the car today… Do you ever have those moments where you're doing something so… I don't know, minor? And yet it feels like an epiphany?_"

"Fixing the car?" Owen asked, once again not following the teen's train of thought. "I'm sorry Zach, I'm not really following."

"_I don't know if you know, but my grandpa — my mom and Aunt Claire's dad — taught me and Gray about cars. We fixed up his old Malibu a few years ago. Gray was okay with it. I mean, he's got a mind like a steel trap and doesn't forget anything. But… he needs to know what to do, needs a plan to follow, do you know what I mean? But it was different, for me. I just… for the first time I felt like I just _knew _what to do._" Zach paused, but Owen waited, knowing he wasn't done. "_I miss that feeling. It's not that it was easy, but it was _fun_. I enjoyed the challenge. I just… I _don't _here. There's no challenge. It's not really fun. And… it's not even just _here_, really, but also at college and—_" Zach cut himself off, letting out a groan. "_I thought maybe coming out here, that maybe I'd get more excited about the business stuff. See what Aunt Claire does. Actually _want _to go back to school in the fall. But… I don't. The most fun I've had was changing that tire today. What's wrong with me?_"

"Nothing's wrong with you," Owen said, finally starting to clue in on what the whole conversation was really about. "You know, college isn't for everyone. It's not the only path forward, even if it seems like that sometimes. I didn't even go straight to college, I went into the Navy first because I didn't know what I wanted. It's not unusual to not know at 18 or 19. Or, hell, even 25. Some people never know."

"_How'd you end up as an animal behaviourist?_" Zach asked again.

"Well, in the Navy I got exposed to some of the programs that were being run," Owen said, sitting up and placing the ball back on the desk, focusing in on the conversation. "And, I've always liked animals — had a bit of an affinity for them, I guess you could say. So, when I finally did my degree, I decided on biology with a focus on animals. I ended up doing a minor in psychology too, actually. I was still with the Navy when I did that. Once I got my degree I was able to get commissioned as an officer and then reassigned to work on the marine mammal program. Then… well, Hoskins and InGen recruited me from there to come here. But, if I had gone straight out of high school? I don't know what I'd have chosen. I may have ended up in business, just like you." Owen paused briefly, as he thought about the consequences of his life path. "I almost assuredly wouldn't have ended up here. Sometimes things just work out. But, I also can't say with any certainty that my job would've been worse somewhere else. My life however? Yeah, probably, as I'd likely have never met Claire and I wouldn't trade that."

"_Hmm,_" Zach said.

"You know that you can switch majors, right?" Owen asked. "Just because you started in business, doesn't mean you need to stay there. Maybe you could look at something like engineering. Or even take a year off. What about a trades school? Or becoming a mechanic?"

"_Ha_," Zach's laugh was bitter. "_My parents are both lawyers. You think they'd be happy if their son was a mechanic?_"

"Why not?" Owen said. "It's not like it's a field that's about to disappear. Hell, Jurassic World has a bunch of them who work there full time. It's not like they can just take the jeeps into San Jose every time they need an oil change or some sort of repair. Not to mention all the other systems around the park. Nothing wrong with being a mechanic." Owen paused, giving Zach a chance to say something, but the teen remained silent. "Seriously, Zach. Life can be hard enough. There's no reason to do something you're going to hate for the rest of your life."

"_Yeah_." Zach's response was low and drawn out.

"You know," Owen said, an idea striking him. "You should be saying all of this to Claire."

"_What? I can't tell her! What if she tells my mom? And… Aunt Claire always knows exactly what she wants. She won't understand._"

"You don't have to tell her everything," Owen reassured. "But, I bet if you told Claire about today and the tire and your thoughts… I bet she'd understand more than you expect. And, like I said, there's a whole crew of mechanics there. Maybe she can help you get reassigned to work with them for a while. Might as well use this summer to help you find out what you _do_ want to do, not just what you don't."

"_Hmm, maybe_."

o-o-o

When the call came in from Karen, Claire found herself grimacing before she answered. After talking with both Owen and Zach over the last couple of days, she'd been dreading Karen's next check in. She didn't like knowing something that she knew her sister would want to know, but that Claire also felt wasn't her place to share. It should be up to Zach when and how and if he ever brought it up with his mom. But, Claire also knew that she wasn't known for her ability to lie and her sister was particularly adept at seeing through her.

"Hey, Kar, how're things?" Claire answered, forcing cheerfulness into her voice. She set her laptop onto the coffee table in front of her and curled up in the corner of the couch. She knew that she'd need to be focused on the call or she'd end up accidentally giving everything away.

"_The usual here,_" Karen replied. "_I can't believe Gray head's off on his course in two weeks. We've been running around trying to make sure he's got everything he needs. It's going to be so quiet around here with both him and Zach gone._"

"You know you could still always come for a visit," Claire reminded her. "Just because Gray can't come, doesn't mean you can't. Or what about you and Jake? I haven't had a chance to even meet this guy yet."

"_Yeah, like the first big vacation away I'm going to manage to take with him is going to be to visit family._" Claire could practically _hear_ her sisters eye roll.

"Fine, don't come here then. But why don't you get away? You should use the opportunity while you've got it. Maybe go to the beach? Or even better, spend a few days in New York. You could see a Broadway show, wander Central Park, eat a lot of amazing food…" Claire found her voice becoming wistful as she talked, vacation ideas flashing through her mind. Although, now that she was thinking about it, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd taken a vacation.

"_Are you suggesting a trip for me or for you?_" Karen asked with a laugh. "_What about you and Owen? Maybe _you _should be planning a vacation._"

"Ha, as if."

"_Why? What's wrong?_"

"Nothing's wrong. Or not any more wrong than before," Claire said with a sigh. "He's still swamped with work on Sorna. I'm lucky if he can swing an occasional night or two over here. No way he has time to actually _go_ somewhere." She uncurled from the couch and stood up to walk over to the window, looking down at the lights flickering along Main Street. It was hard to tell from the distance and darkness how busy it was, but she always found watching the park soothing, knowing that everything was working together at it was supposed to.

"_There are labour laws, you know,_" Karen said. "_And_ _he does get vacation time. So do you. It wouldn't hurt either of you to actually, you know, use it._"

"I'll mention it. But, you think _I'm_ a workaholic? Just try to get between Owen and his raptors."

Claire laughed as she said it, but she was still feeling a bit on edge over the truth of her words. She knew they really were both workaholics. They both loved their work and wanted to be the best that they could be. It was something that she'd _liked_ about Owen. She felt less guilty about needing to spend an evening catching up on paperwork or replying to emails when he'd often have his own leftover work to deal with. And both of them had been woken up more than once because of work-related emergencies. Ones that sent Claire scrambling to the control room or Owen off to the raptor paddock. It had just felt easier to deal with all of that when she knew that they'd both end up back in the same place each night.

"_Are things getting any better?_" Karen asked meanwhile.

Claire sighed. "Yeah, I mean, as much as they can with our current situation. He was back here last week, did I tell you that? Showed up and surprised me."

"_That was nice of him_."

Claire decided to simply agree with her sister, not really wanting to get into a discussion about _why_ Owen had come back. She had to force her tone to sound even and light. "It was."

The problem was, she couldn't tell Karen the whole story even if she wanted to. For one thing, she couldn't tell her about the potential new batch of raptors. Not yet, anyway, and possibly never. Also, if she was being fair, the visit wasn't all bad.

While Owen had only been able to spend one night before having to head straight back to Sorna, it _had_ been a good night. Not only had he seemed intent on trying to make her understand just how much he missed her, but they had talked — really talked — too. They knew that they couldn't fix their current situation, not without one or both of them giving up their jobs, but they agreed to work together to make sure that they'd see each other at least every couple of weeks, if not more frequently. She wasn't convinced it was actually going to happen, but she was willing to try.

"_Have you seen Zach recently_?" Karen's change of topic surprised Claire, but, really, it was what she'd been expecting Karen to bring up in the first place.

"I have. I had dinner with him yesterday, actually," Claire confirmed. "I think he's having a good time out here. Seems to have made some friends." As she talked, she found herself crossing her fingers, hoping Karen wouldn't question her, the way she used to as a kid.

"_That's good,_" Karen said, but there was something off in her tone.

Claire looked away from the monorail that was currently making its way across the lagoon. "Why are you saying it like that?"

"_Like what?_"

"Like you don't mean it. What's up?"

"_I just haven't heard from him as much lately. I was getting used to him actually letting me know what he was up to and now… practically radio silence._"

"He's pretty busy," Claire reminded Karen. Well, that was definitely confirmation that Zach still hadn't talked to his mom about everything. And confirmation that she needed to mostly keep her mouth shut. The problem was, when she'd seen Zach they had only really talked about his job. She didn't actually really know how everything else was going. She decided to just talk in generics, and hope her sister wouldn't notice. "He's got work and his friends. And the internship program also runs a bunch of enrichment type activities. They aren't just left on their own the rest of the time. They get behind the scenes tours. There are talks by most of the various departments. Stuff like that."

"_Do you give a talk?_"

"Some years," Clare confirmed. She left the window heading back to the couch and dropping down onto it. "It depends on my schedule and theirs. I'm not slated to this year, I don't think. Probably to Zach's relief."

She'd actually offered at dinner the previous night to take Zach and some of his friends out next time, but Zach had balked, before sheepishly admitting that he hadn't really told anyone that she was his aunt. She'd asked him what excuse he gave his friends for why he wasn't available for dinner, and Zach had said he'd told them he had to work late. Claire had bit her lip at the time to keep from making a comment about all the lies Zach was going to have to remember. While she got along much better with him now than she had before, she still felt like their relationship was fragile. And she wanted him to continue to feel like he could confide in her.

"_Huh, I kind of thought once he got there he'd be all over taking advantage of his connection,_" Karen said. "_I get him wanting to get accepted on his own. I know he's felt overshadowed sometimes by Gray._"

"I think it's good that he wants to do all of this on his own," Claire said. And she really did mean it.

While she, like Zach, had definitely grown up with a comfortable middle to upper-middle class lifestyle, her parents easily able to cover her needs and most of her wants, she knew it was her own work that had gotten her to where she was today. And over the years, she'd noticed stark differences between employees who had always had things handed to them versus those who had had to work for it. Those in the first group who didn't quickly figured out that they needed to learn how to do their own work if they wanted to get ahead had never lasted.

When Zach had reached out the previous day to see if she had time to meet, she'd agreed readily. Owen had already given her a heads up on his conversation with Zach, and she'd been waiting to see if Zach would make the first move. At the time, she'd also debated if she should be the one reaching out to him. During their dinner, she had been able to tell that Zach was struggling to bring up what he wanted to say, and so she'd casually mentioned that Owen had said the two had talked and that Owen had seemed to think that she should talk with Zach.

Claire hadn't admitted that Owen had told her everything, which seemed to be the right call, when Zach had finally started to open up, confessing his confusion around school and jobs and what he wanted to do. It had taken a bit before he'd hesitantly brought up that Owen had mentioned the on island mechanics and that maybe she'd be able to pull some strings so that he could work with them. Claire had been a bit surprised he'd asked, but she'd agreed to see if that was a possibility. However, what had surprised her the most, had been the relief that had shown on Zach's face when she'd agreed.

She'd sent an email first thing that morning to see what she could do. While she didn't _like_ throwing her weight around — not wanting people to think she was abusing her position — she also wanted to help Zach. Claire figured it couldn't hurt to ask. And it wasn't like she was trying to help Zach skip out on working. He'd still be an intern, and still subject to the same internship requirements. And, if it helped him figure out what he wanted to be doing? Well, it seemed like a good idea to her. While she liked that Zach wanted to do things on his own, she was also happy to be in a position where she could help him fully explore his potential.

"You've raised two really good kids," Claire reminded her sister, when Karen didn't say anything. "Both of them are smart and kind and have level heads on their shoulders."

"_Yeah. I know you're right, but… thanks_," Karen said, her voice sounding watery.

"Are _you_ okay?" Claire asked, suddenly feeling a little panicked. Had she missed something else?

"_I'm good, really,_" Karen replied. "_Just can't believe how old both of them are getting. I'm going to be on my own sooner than I realized. I guess I always figured I had more time. That they'd come home during college. I wasn't expecting Zach to choose not to._"

"You're still their mom," Claire said, shifting on the couch to tuck her legs up under her. "And they both love you. You're just entering a new phase. Besides, aren't you the one who used to tell me how you couldn't wait to have some more free time? Now you'll have it. And you've got Jake. You gotta focus on the positives."

"_Like you are?_"

"Touché," Claire said as she burst out laughing. It didn't take long before Karen was laughing with her. When Claire finally managed to pull herself together, she added, "I guess things are changing for both of us."

"_They are,_" Karen agreed. "_Here's to the start of a new chapter._"

"Here, here."

o-o-o

"What's with you today?"

Owen looked over at Barry, before shrugging innocently and staring back down into the paddock where the raptors were currently wrestling for control of a large orange rubber ring. "Nothing."

"Right, that's why you keep looking towards the docks. Is something coming today? Or some_one_?" Barry teased.

"I'm not looking towards the docks," Owen protested, but he couldn't help himself, looking back in the direction of the docks.

However, before Barry could comment again there was a loud growl from below. Owen looked back down to see that Echo and Blue each had a firm grip on the ring, while Charlie was standing off to the side now, her gaze darting between her sisters. Both Echo and Blue had their teeth bared as they each snarled and growled at the other.

"Okay, that's enough," Owen called down, but neither of the two raptors even twitched at the sound. "C'mon girls, break it up."

The raptors continued to stay locked in their fight, although Charlie was now looking up at Owen and Barry, her gaze constantly flicking over to the bucket hanging from the railing. Blue gave a strong tug and twist to the ring, almost knocking Echo off her feet, but the other raptor countered, twisting the other way.

Owen reached into the bucket, pulling out a rat, suppressing the laugh that wanted to escape as Charlie's gaze followed his movements. "Here, Charlie," Owen tossed it down to her, hoping the rat might break up the other two. But, while Charlie happily gobbled down her rat, the other two stayed focused on their tug-of-war. It wasn't actually causing any issues, so Owen wasn't in a huge hurry to break them up. He rested his arms on the railing, watching as the two continued to battle it out.

In the end, what finally broke them apart was the whirling sound of an approaching helicopter, both immediately letting go of the ring as their gazes darted up into the sky, searching.

"Is that for us?" Barry asked, his own gaze focused on the horizon where they could just make out the helicopter. "Is Hoksins on his way over?"

"No," Owen said, briefly looking up as well. "The eggs are hatching. Claire texted me about an hour ago that she and some others would be coming over for that."

o-o-o

From the helicopter, Claire had been able to spot Owen and Barry on the catwalk around the raptor paddock. The raptors had also been easy to spot, all three of them staring up at the sky. Their bodies were so still it was as if they were statues, with only their heads moving, and only just enough to track the helicopter's movements.

When they'd landed, she wasn't surprised when she stepped out that Owen wasn't there to greet her (even if she had been still sort of hoping he would). She knew he'd be busy trying to calm the raptors down and to try to continue with his planned training schedule. Her visiting Sorna was essentially the same issue as Owen visiting Nublar — they both had a work schedule they couldn't just toss aside because the other was finally able to come over. And, it wasn't like Claire was on Sorna for a social call, either.

The new batch of Apatosaurus were hatching.

Claire, Zara (who had managed to convince Claire to bring her along), and Dr. Holloway headed straight for the lab building. It had taken them a bit of time to get organized once the call had come in, and then to actually fly over, so they were hoping they weren't too late.

Dr. Russel Holloway was the vet who had been most involved with taking care of the infant dinosaurs over the years. After the lab had moved to Sorna, and once the first batch of dinosaurs had been incubating, he'd been asked to consider moving to Sorna and working from there, since that was where all the dinosaurs would be born from now on.

However, he hadn't been keen on the idea as he had a family back on the mainland, and so the position of resident veterinarian for Sorna had ended up going to a relatively more recent hire who had been working with him for the past year. Russel had agreed to make trips to Sorna as necessary and had been mentoring the veterinarian. But, because the Apatosaurus would be the first batch to hatch on Sorna, everyone had thought it was a good idea that Russel was there, just in case.

The lab building was busy when they entered, and Claire led the small group directly to the area where she remembered the incubators were kept from her last visit. They found Henry, a lab tech and the vet Dr. Zia Rodriguez all gathered around it.

"Are we too late?" Claire asked, gaining the group's attention as they approached.

"Oh, you made it," Henry replied, sparing them a quick glance. Claire couldn't tell from his tone if he was happy or disappointed. "The first has hatched, but we've still got four more eggs we're waiting on."

"How's it doing?" Russel asked, moving over to stand beside the other vet. "Any issues so far?"

Claire didn't pay attention to the response, instead circling around the incubator to find some space to watch from. As she moved, she noticed eggs incubating in two more incubators. One had almost two dozen relatively small eggs (small in terms of Jurassic World eggs) which she knew must be the batch of Compys. In the other incubator, under the softly glowing light of its heat lamp were seven "regular" sized eggs nestled within. For a brief moment, she almost panicked, thinking she'd missed the authorization for another species, when she remembered Owen's comments about Hoskins plans for a new batch of raptors. Apparently that was moving full steam ahead.

Her gaze lingered on the raptor incubator a few seconds longer, before she focused on why she was there. While Claire had seen many hatchings over her years at Jurassic World, this was the first one since everything had happened with the Indoraptors, and she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when her eyes landed on the baby dinosaur — the baby _Apatosaurus_ — that the other vet was trying to keep corralled near her, as she took measurements. Claire hadn't realized until she saw it, that part of her had expected to discover not an Apatosaurus, but another hybrid.

o-o-o

When his phone rang late in the evening, Henry had initially grabbed for it, worried that something had happened. However, when he had seen Eli's name on the caller ID, he'd been tempted not to answer.

For some reason that had continued to elude Henry, the Apatosaurus were particularly hard to breed. Without fail, every time they had attempted them, half the eggs wouldn't even make it close to hatching, and of the remaining ones, about half of those would die within hours or a couple of days after birth. The latest batch had suffered the same results. While they had started off with 10 eggs, only five made it to hatching, and now, five days later, only two were still alive.

But, it should've been three.

The third had died when they had tried to smuggle it off island to get it to Eli's buyer. A decision that Henry had protested against from the start, and so he refused to accept any blame over its death. He had warned them it was too early, but they hadn't listened.

Ever since he'd found out that it had died on Nublar earlier that day, he'd been waiting for Hoskins or Eli to call. He didn't _want_ to talk to either of them, but he knew the conversation was inevitable.

Before he answered, Henry took a quick look around the lab to confirm that he was still alone. It wouldn't do for anyone to overhear the conversation. Thankfully, this late in the evening, the lab was deserted as everyone moved over to the lounge and their own rooms.

"Hello," Henry said, keeping his tone even and calm, as if there was nothing to be concerned about.

"_What happened?_" Eli demanded immediately. "_My buyer's really upset. He's saying this is proof we can't deliver. That we're amateurs. If we lose him…_"

"I told you both that it was too early," Henry interjected forcefully, his irritation rising. So much for being able to keep his calm. He left the lab area and went into his small office, shutting the door behind him. "The dinosaurs are delicate creatures. They're not meant for this world, and it takes time for them to adapt. The Apatosaurus, for some reason, struggle more than some of the others. We should've waited."

"_You were the one who insisted that the best way to get it off Sorna was with the others. We didn't have a choice. They had to be moved today, so this one did, too,_" Eli replied, and Henry could hear the frustration in the other man's voice.

Henry hated to admit it, but Eli had a point there. Figuring out how to get the dinosaurs from Sorna to the Costa Rican mainland had been the biggest hurdle in their plan. Made worse by the fact that all transportation to and from Sorna went via Nublar and trying to move the dinosaurs directly to the mainland would have involved bringing in their own boat or helicopter, which would've raised too many flags. While they'd tried, they hadn't been able to come up with a good excuse for why they'd need their own transportation. That had left them with having to figure out how they could stowaway a dinosaur on the boat that was essentially now being used as a ferry between the islands.

Back on Nublar, all the dinosaurs that died shortly before or after birth went through a necropsy at the Vet Centre. However, while they had moved the breeding of new dinosaurs to Sorna, the main Vet Centre remained on Nublar. While they did have a vet on Sorna now, she was there to assist with keeping the baby dinosaurs alive. Necropsies weren't her speciality. That meant that any of the dinosaurs that died shortly after birth would still need to be transferred to Nublar.

And _that,_ had meant that there would be at least one sailing between the islands where everyone would be expecting the boat to be caring dinosaurs (mind you, they would be expecting it to be carrying _dead_ ones).

It was Henry who had suggested they piggyback off of this same sailing. If they gave the baby dinosaur a mild sedative, combined with some slight fudging of the numbers, he had been pretty confident they could pass it off as just another one that had died.

Then, once the dinosaurs reached Nublar, the plan was that it would be Hoskins's responsibility to separate it out from the _actual_ dead dinosaurs. Hoskins could then use the helicopter to transfer the dinosaur to the mainland. As Hoskins was a frequent traveller between Nublar and the mainland, and since he normally used the helicopter to do so, no one would suspect anything, and nor would anyone be examining any bags or boxes or packages Hoskins needed to take with him. Once the dinosaur made it to the mainland, Hoskins would pass it off to Eli (or, potentially, the buyer directly) and it would be up to them to get it out of the country.

Henry had always known that their first attempt was probably going to have some hiccups as they would run into problems they couldn't have predicted or planned for. However, having the dinosaur _die_ during transport had not been one of them (although, in hindsight, it probably should've been something they'd thought about). Not that it had really died _during_ transport, well, not exactly.

In fact, the dinosaur had made it safely to Nublar. The problem had arisen when Hoskins had arrived a bit too late to the boat, and the dinosaur had already been unloaded and was on its way to the Vet Centre with the others. While Hoskins had scrambled to try and figure out how to intercept it, it had ended up being for nothing. The dinosaur had awoken during transport, only to immediately go into cardiac arrest. While those transporting it had tried to save it, they hadn't brought a regular mobile vet truck (they were only expecting to be transferring dead dinosaurs afterall) and they had been unable to get it to the Vet Centre in time.

"I know I said that was the best way to get it off island and I still do believe that," Henry agreed, his voice pointedly calm. He picked up the tiny rake and started gently raking patterns into his miniature zen garden as he spoke, hoping it would keep him somewhat relaxed. "But I also said that this was too early. That we needed to give the dinosaurs more time so we could be sure that they were going to survive. The best way is not the only way. Our next attempt will go better."

"_This is already taking much longer than we expected. And now I have to convince the buyer to wait another eight or more weeks? This is a disaster, Henry,_" Eli practically shouted the last words. "_We can't have problems like this. If their fragility is that high, that's _your _problem. _You _need to fix this._"

"You're missing the silver lining here," Henry stated, as he ignored Eli's words. He swirled the rake around one of the rocks, before following the edge of the garden.

Henry had been trying to improve the survival rates of the dinosaurs since the pre Jurassic Park days. And he had — their survival rates were over a thousand times better than they had once been. However, Henry was the only person who had been involved back then and had seen all the improvements over the years. To everyone else, the survival rates seemed horrific in comparison to what they were used to expecting. Of course, as Henry liked to remind them, it was not fair to compare their success to natural procreation.

"_Silver lining? _What _silver lining? I've got a buyer yelling at me and threatening to pull out. Tell me how any of this is _'good' _for us? Maybe this whole plan was stupid from the start. Maybe we're–_"

"Oh, stop being so melodramatic," Henry interrupted him, unable to suppress the roll of his eyes. He carefully placed the rake back in its holder and moved over to the lone window in his office, not that he had much of a view of anything. "This was always going to be risky. But we needed to try it at some point. And now we know where some of the pain points in our plan are. We hadn't counted on Hoskins being late, but next time we'll be prepared for that. We may actually need to bring in someone else. Maybe someone on the boat or who works at the docks who can be sure to be there and can find and isolate the dinosaur with limited scrutiny. While we don't know yet if the sedative was at all involved in its death (and I personally highly doubt it), we still need to confirm if the size of the dose we gave was appropriate."

"_I still don't see how any of that is a positive,_" Eli huffed.

"When things go right the first time, no one starts looking to see how they can improve it," Henry said patiently, even if he was feeling less and less patient (or charitable) towards Hoskins or Eli or the plan itself. He should've known it was a bad idea to get involved with these two. "But when things go wrong, we all work to do better. It's better they went wrong now, on an initial trial run, than later. Better with just one dinosaur, than many."

"_I don't think you understand the real world._" Eli words were sharp. "_People aren't so forgiving. They don't think like scientists. They expect to receive things on time and on schedule. They expect to get what they ordered and what they have paid for._"

"These are living breathing creatures we're talking about," Henry reminded him, a hand rising to pinch the bridge of his nose. "They were never — _are never_ — going to follow any schedule perfectly. It's imperative that we make our plans flexible. Haven't you ever wondered why Jurassic World doesn't show off infant dinosaurs? Everyone knows that people love baby animals. But even the petting zoo ones are at least six months old. And most of them are actually over a year. Presenting baby dinosaurs would be lucrative, but not if they end up dying while people are watching. We need to wait longer before we deliver them, unless we want today's outcome to happen again."

"_What are you suggesting we do then? Keep them alive for a year on Sorna and then somehow get them off? How the hell do you think that'll work?_" Eli asked, his disbelief clear. "_We can't wait that long anyway. We can't fund this project without buyers for a year._"

"I'm not saying we have to wait a year," Henry replied, holding back his groan. "But we do need to wait longer. We need to rethink parts of our plan. It's not unusual for the dinosaurs to unexpectedly die during the first six months. And when they do, Jurassic World will be expecting them to show up for necropsies. I'm not sure what the right answer is, but if we want this to be a success and if we're going to continue to try to hide it all in plain sight, we need a new plan."

"_From what Hoskins has said, if they are going to be trained, they need to bond with a trainer immediately,_" Eli mused aloud and Henry was relieved that Eli seemed to be getting calmer, now focused on solutions. "_Preferably the first person they see at birth._"

"Which is not something we can do," Henry reminded him. He left the window and walked over to the kettle that was sitting on a side counter and plugged it in. Maybe a cup of tea would help.

"_I know that, I'm just thinking aloud here,_" Eli said. "_I don't think we can wait even half a year, but maybe three months–_"

"Depending on the species, we may not need to wait that long," Henry interrupted. "For some we might be able to get away with only a month."

"_Hmm, I'll need to talk to my buyer. And you and Hoskins need to figure out how you're going to get one off without raising suspicions. From everything I've heard, the dinosaurs are well tracked from the moment you place them into the eggs. It's not going to be easy–_"

"This was _never_ going to be easy," Henry said, focusing on pulling out a cup, the teapot and his tea. "But, you and Hoskins need to step up more here. I'm doing my part — I can create them and I can get them to birth. But after that? That's got to be on you two."

"_What do you think the timeline is until we can attempt this again?_" Eli asked, and Henry was unsurprised (although still annoyed) that Eli was seemingly ignoring his complaint.

"We've got a batch of Compys already incubating. They should be born in early August. And then we have the raptors who'll likely be born at the end of the month. But we _definitely_ can't do anything with those. Owen and Barry will both be watching those eggs very closely," Henry informed him.

"_That's too bad,_" Eli hummed. "_I bet we could get top dollar for a raptor._"

"Not worth the risk, not when we still don't know how things are going to work out," Henry stated flatly. "Let's get a success before we consider anything like that. Besides, the deal wasn't that I was just going to make 'extras' of Compys or raptors, but that I'd get to continue my research."

"_Compys are small, right? They should be a good one to try next,_" Eli agreed, once again choosing to ignore Henry's complaint. "_I'll work on my buyer._"

"They're also one of the easiest to keep alive, what with the fact that they're scavengers. Easy to feed, easy to care for," Henry said. "And easy to breed. We should end up with about a dozen of them when they hatch. So it should be easier to have one go missing."

"_That's good_," Eli said. "_I'll start working on the next steps_." There was a short pause, and Henry thought he was home free when Eli spoke up again. "_We need a success this time. If it doesn't work—"_

"I've been holding up my end," Henry repeated. "This is on you and Hoskins now."

* * *

_Poor baby Apatosaurus. _😢_ What did you think of Henry and Hoskins and Eli's (or as one reviewer, _Dragonasaurus, _has named them, the Jurassic Triad) plan? And what did you think of the new character addition? She'll get more "screen" time in the coming chapters. :)_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Walking into the dining area, Owen groaned inwardly when he realized that all the tables were occupied. _This_ was one of many downsides to the increased personnel on the island. He knew he should be more social, and that he should just go and sit at any of the tables and chat up the people he was working with. That it was nothing like high school and that no one was giving off a "you're not welcome here" attitude (not that he'd ever been on the receiving end of that, but he would admit to having done it to others).

He was about to turn to leave, deciding he would take his lunch to his office and eat in solitude there, when he heard his name called out. Owen looked back over the room, spotting a woman who had jumped out of her seat and was now heading towards him.

"Owen, right? Owen Grady? The raptor's animal behaviourist?" she asked, coming to a stop in front of him.

"Um, yeah?" Owen replied hesitantly. He had paid as little attention as he could get away with to the new personnel on the island. And since it had turned out that he really didn't need to interact with them, he had no idea who most of the people wandering around were. Barry (and Claire) had been on his case to be more social. He had simply reminded them that there was a reason he had hidden himself away on his secluded lot on Jurassic World. (He'd also pointed out to Claire, that her telling him to be more social was a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.)

"Hi, I'm Zia," the woman said, sticking her hand forward to shake, before realizing that Owen's hands were full, as he held his plate, cutlery and glass. Owen just looked at her blankly as she lowered her hand with a sheepish smile. "Dr. Zia Rodriguez. I'm the on-island vet. I've been meaning to introduce myself."

"Oh, hi," Owen said, giving her a short nod. He did remember hearing that a vet was going to be stationed there now that there were baby dinosaurs to take care of.

"I've been swamped this past week with the new Apatosauruses, but I've been meaning to introduce myself and get out and meet the raptors, whenever you have time," Zia continued.

"Yeah, sure," Owen agreed. He looked back down at his plate of food briefly, wondering if he was going to be able to escape.

"I actually have a lot of questions for you," Zia admitted with a short laugh. "Want to join me?" She gestured back to the table she'd been sitting at, where he could see her half-eaten lunch.

"Sure, why not," he caved, following her back to the table. Might as well get this over with now. At least she appeared to have been eating alone, so it wasn't like he had to join one of the noiser tables. "Were you a vet at Jurassic World?" he asked. He'd mostly only ever interacted with Molly, as they liked to allow the vets to become somewhat specialized and focus on a subset of the species.

"Yes," Zia said. "But only for the past year, I haven't been here all that long."

"What made you decide to come to Sorna?" Owen asked as he started cutting into his lasagna. "Why not stay on Nublar?"

"Why wouldn't you want to come here?" she replied, her eyes wide with excitement and enthusiasm. "All new species development is happening here, so that means this is where all the baby dinosaurs will be born. It's the best way to interact with a variety of the species. Not only that, but the — your — raptors are here."

"But there's nothing else here," Owen said, after he swallowed his current bite. "I just don't get choosing here over Nublar. I wouldn't."

"Then why are _you_ here?" Zia turned the question back around on him.

"My girls," he replied matter-of-factly. "I didn't have a choice. Not if I wanted to keep working with them."

"Oh," she looked a little surprised at his answer, and Owen wondered how much (or little) she knew about InGen and it's complicated relationship with Jurassic World.

Owen cut off another bite, chewing it as he watched her. He knew he'd become a bit jaded to his job and the whole concept of dinosaurs (he blamed that mostly on dealing with the Indominus and Indoraptors), but it was kind of refreshing to see someone who was still excited about it all. And not the wide-eyed kid fascination, but just genuinely happy to be doing her work. While she looked younger than him, he was pretty sure she was in her 30s, too. He knew that vet school would've added a bunch of years to her training, but he wondered what else she had done. When she shifted in her seat, he caught sight of a tattoo peeking out of the collar of her shirt — _Semper Fi_.

"You were in the marines?" he asked, gesturing towards her tattoo when she looked confused.

"What? Oh, yeah. I enlisted straight out of high school," Zia nodded, picking up her piece of garlic bread. "Then used the GI bill to help pay for college."

"I did something similar," Owen said. "I was still enlisted when I got my degree, but I did so because I wanted to get into the marine mammal program."

"You were part of that?" Zia asked, leaning forward towards him, her food forgotten, bread dropping back onto her plate. "I heard about that program. What was it like? How come you left?"

"Got an offer I couldn't refuse," he said with a chuckle. "Hoskins — you've met him, right?" Zia nodded. "He'd seen my work and said they were looking for someone to work with a batch of raptors. How could I say no to that?"

"If you moved to Nublar originally for your raptors and then moved with them here, why would you rather be on Nublar than here?" Zia picked up her fork again to continue eating.

"My girlfriend," Owen winced, he really hated to use the term, it felt so juvenile, "lives on Nublar. This long distance thing has been tough." He looked down at his plate, pushing some of his salad around. Just thinking about Claire and their predicament was enough to lower his mood. "What about you? You leave anyone behind?"

"Me? No, no way," she shook her head. "There weren't a lot of options on Nublar."

"And even less here," he commented, before scooping up another bite with his fork.

"Yeah, but… dinosaurs."

Owen almost laughed at how dreamy Zia's voice went as she said that. He found he was enjoying talking to her. It probably wouldn't hurt to try to extend his on-island friend base past Barry. Looking down at his half finished lunch, and then over at hers, he offered: "Tell you what, as soon as we finish here, why don't you come meet my girls?"

o-o-o

"Did you hear the news?"

Claire looked up from her laptop when Zara rushed into her office, breathless. "What news?"

"There's a rumour–" Zara started, dropping into the chair across from Claire, nearly bouncing with excitement, or nervous energy, Claire couldn't tell.

"You're interrupting me over a rumour?" Claire groaned, turning back to her laptop. "You know how much I hate gossip."

"This isn't gossip," Zara protested, and Claire looked up, raising a single eyebrow in doubt. "Well, not the kind you mean. Apparently," Zara leaned forward, her voice dropping, as if she didn't want to be overheard, and Claire couldn't help herself, leaning instinctively forward as well. "Apparently, someone's been working on, well, essentially a clone of Jurassic World."

"That's impossible," Claire scoffed, sitting back. "No one else has the technology. If they did, we'd have heard about it before now."

"If someone had it, wouldn't they want to keep it a secret?" Zara countered. "I mean, no one knew how close Hammond was all those years ago until the Jurassic Park incident happened. And even then, it wasn't really for another few years and the T. rexes in San Diego that it was fully confirmed. If someone else is creating dinosaurs, seems likely they'd not want us to know until they were close."

"True," Claire nodded. "But, I don't think it'd be as easy to keep it quiet now. It was easier for Hammond, because people weren't carrying around computers in their pockets that could instantly share photos and videos with the rest of the world. He was able to maintain much more control on what communication left the island. It's harder to keep _anything_ a secret nowadays, much less a bunch of massive creatures that consume a ridiculous amount of food. Honestly, making sure we always have enough food often feels like the biggest challenge. And it would be really hard to hide how much we get shipped to the island."

"Maybe they're not on an island. Easier to hide if it's just trucks," Zara mused.

"Maybe, although that seems incredibly risky," Claire conceded. "I don't know that we'd ever be able to get insurance coverage if we didn't have the natural barriers that Nublar provides. Where do the rumours say it's happening?"

"Somewhere over in Asia. It wasn't very specific."

"Hmm." Claire leaned back in her chair, thoughtful. While she found it really hard to believe that the rumour was true, she also knew that most rumours didn't usually come from nowhere. And if that was the case here, what could be true?

Claire knew that Hammond and Lockwood hadn't been alone in their quest all those years ago to try and bring back the dinosaurs. Other companies, _many_ other companies, had also tried. But they had all failed where InGen had succeeded. It was almost unheard of that, almost thirty years later, no other company had been able to replicate their success. But a lot of that was because of just how tight a lid InGen kept on their research. It wasn't just their refusal to let the scientists publish the results of their research and the heavy handed NDAs, but it was also the more than generous salary and benefits that were offered, designed specifically such that most other offers would never even compare.

Under Wu's leadership, there were very few who actually understood the whole process from start to finish, by design. That way, should a scientist leave, they would be unable to recreate the process from scratch. Of course, it had been long enough now, that it was possible that someone had managed to pull together enough scientists from all the different areas, except… Claire found it hard to believe that would even be enough. They were forever refining and improving their process. The knowledge from someone who left 10 years ago would be out of date with the process of someone who quit last year. Still… the whole concept was unnerving to think about.

And, it also raised another possibility — one that Owen had brought up before, back when they were wondering what was up with Hoskins and the Indoraptors — that someone had managed to smuggle a dinosaur off island. Or, not even a dinosaur, just enough genetic material that they wouldn't have to start from scratch.

But, just as she'd told Owen back then, she found it difficult to believe that that had ever happened or _would_ ever happen. They tracked everything carefully, from the samples, to the embryos, to the eggs, and finally the hatched specimens. And those that didn't hatch? Even the 'waste' was carefully tracked until it was finally incinerated. While Hammond was mostly known for his "spare no expense line," he had a second one, that he'd said just as often: "You can never be too careful." Masrani had taken that to heart.

"So?" Zara's question pulled Claire from her thoughts, and she was somewhat surprised her assistant was still sitting across from her.

"I'm sure it's just a rumour," Claire dismissed it. "Unless there are pictures or videos or more real evidence, I wouldn't put any stock into it."

Zara frowned. "What if it ends up being true? What'll that do to Jurassic World?"

"Do? Nothing. Competition is not a bad thing," Claire said. "And we've got a more than ten years' head start. It takes time and effort to build a reputation. Another company opening a park won't replace what we've done."

"I guess so," Zara said slowly, rising from her chair, her earlier enthusiasm gone.

"I really doubt it's true," Claire repeated. "But, if you hear anything else, let me know. Always good to keep track of what people are talking about."

"Does that mean I can share other gossip with you?" Zara asked, a grin starting to emerge. "Because, you know, there's a _lot_ I could tell you."

"Only if it has to do with the dinosaurs," Claire replied with a laugh, waving Zara away.

Zara laughed, heading out of the office. She paused in the doorway to look back at Claire. "Fine, but your loss."

o-o-o

The ringing of Claire's phone shattered the quiet of their condo and Owen could feel Claire shifting in his arms, ready to get up to answer it. He tightened his grip, his arms wrapping around her as he buried his face against her neck as he mumbled, "No, don't go."

With the raptor eggs incubating, Owen had known that if he wanted to get back to Nublar for more than a night or two, he needed to do so now. The moment they hatched, he knew he'd be lucky if he was even able to keep up with their nightly phone calls. He'd practically lived at the nursery during his girls' first few months, and he hadn't had a second set of raptors to take care of then, like he would now. It had taken some finessing, but he'd managed to sort out his (and Barry's) schedule enough to get away for five days. He couldn't remember the last time he'd ever had so many consecutive days off. Which, really, had made him wonder if he needed to rethink his work-life balance a bit.

"It might be important," Claire said, although her struggle ceased almost immediately when he placed a kiss behind her ear, before trailing kisses slowly down her neck. She tilted her head, giving him more access, letting out a contented sigh.

"_This_ is more important," Owen told her, the words coming out between his kisses, as her phone fell silent. He loosened his grip enough for Claire to turn over, his lips immediately finding hers for a proper kiss. Just as he was deepening it though, her phone rang again, and although she continued to kiss him, he could feel her tensing in his arms. He gave her a final peck before pulling away and flopping onto his back. "Answer it."

"No, you're right, this is important," she said, following after him, although Owen could tell she was still attuned to the chirping sounds her phone was making.

"It _is_ important," he agreed, "but your attention is going to be split until you know what it's about. Answer it and then we can get back to this." He waggled his eyebrows at her, before gesturing towards her phone, even though it had once again fallen silent. "Go."

She leaned down and gave him another kiss, and for a moment he was tempted to pull her down, but he fought the instinct, watching as she climbed out of the bed and headed back out into the living area. Closing his eyes, he exhaled slowly, listening as Claire moved about their place. He could hear her on the phone, but couldn't make out what she was saying. While he hoped she wasn't going to end up needing to go in to work, he knew the possibility was more than likely.

Owen was just starting to drift off again, when he felt the bed dip as Claire sat on it beside his hip. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know what was going to happen next. Still, he let himself enjoy the feel of her hand combing through his hair, before her lips met his again. This time, he didn't fight his instincts, reaching for her, and tugging her further onto the bed.

"I can't," she protested. "I'm sorry, but there's an emergency…"

"Someone die?" he asked, peppering kisses down her jaw.

"No…"

"Then it's not an emergency," he replied, rolling them over.

"Owen…" The word died on Claire's lips as she let out a moan. For a moment he thought he'd maybe won, when her hands started pushing at his shoulders. "Seriously, Owen, I gotta go in. The sooner I go, the sooner I can get back."

"That's what you always say," he grumbled, not meaning to sound petty, but unable to help it.

She gave him another nudge, and this time, he rolled off her, his hands coming up, palms pressed against his eyes and he fought back his frustration. He could feel the bed shifting under her as she moved, and he was surprised when she didn't immediately get up.

"I still have to work, Owen. It's my job."

"It's supposed to be a vacation. What's the 'emergency' this time?" he replied, still not looking at her.

"I didn't do any work yesterday," she reminded him. "Vacation or not, it _is_ an emergency — someone fell off a ferry."

Owen hesitated briefly, a little intrigued, before focusing back on his actual grievance. "You worked the day before."

"It's not my fault I couldn't take five days off last minute. I had things scheduled that needed to get done," she said, obviously annoyed that he was bringing up that complaint again. "Besides, you didn't even get here until after lunch that day. If I'd taken the entire day off I'd've just been waiting for you to show up. Might as well have those meetings. Give me more notice next time and I'll make sure to book it all off."

He mulled over her words. That she was right didn't make it any less unfair and frustrating.

"We should've gone away," he finally said, lowering his hands to look at her. He felt bad when he saw the same frustration and distress in her that he was feeling. He knew it wasn't her fault that they couldn't get as much time together as they both wanted.

"They'd still be phoning me," she said. "But, since I'm here, it'll be faster if I just go in and deal with it in person."

"I know," he finally conceded, reaching out and letting his hand rest on her knee, squeezing lightly. "Go. I'll be here when you get back."

"Promise?" Claire asked, a glimmer of a smile appearing.

"Where else would I be?" Owen said. He glanced at the clock next to the bed, for the first time realizing just how early it was. "In fact, I'll probably be _right_ here. No point wasting an opportunity to catch up on some sleep."

"Okay," she said after a brief hesitation. "I'll be back as fast as I can."

"And I'll be waiting," he smiled up at her. He patted her knee again. "Go."

She leaned down and kissed him quickly before getting off the bed before he could attempt to take it any farther. "Sleep," she told him. "I'll wake you when I'm back."

Nodding, he pulled the covers back up as he turned onto his side, and he was asleep before she'd even managed to leave the condo.

o-o-o

While Claire had hoped her presence was going to make dealing with the latest crisis easier, it still ended up taking most of the morning. It hadn't even ended up being all that big. The person who had fallen in was an idiot tourist who had climbed over the railing on the ferry — obsensibly to get a better instagram-worthy picture of the sunrise. They weren't hurt. Mostly shocked by their sudden plunge into the pacific ocean. But, the ferry had to stop, a rescue had to be mounted, and a whole lot of people were inconvenienced (and Claire considered herself part of that list).

After having the tourist checked out by the onsite medical staff, Claire had then put her, _and the rest of her party_ to their chagrin, on the next ferry off-island. She'd ignored their shouts as they insisted they would sue and that Jurassic World had no right to refuse them entry and that they had already paid for their entire week and they better get a full refund. Instead, she had just smiled tightly and said nothing aloud. She'd leave it up to the lawyers, should they actually sue, but she wasn't about to offer them anything in advance. After all, it was _their_ fault. There were clear signs all over the ferry saying to not climb on the railing. And, on top of that, if they couldn't be trusted to behave on a boat, it wasn't at all in Jurassic World's best interest to allow them around dinosaurs, some who would happily eat them and others who wouldn't even notice when they accidentally squashed them.

She was just finishing up the last of the paperwork about the incident in her office when there was a sharp knock on her door a moment before it swung open, Owen entering her office looking frazzled. Claire stood up, immediately concerned. Even seeing him after the Indominus and Indoraptor events she couldn't remember ever seeing him look that way.

"What happened?" she demanded, circling her desk to stop in front of him.

"I need to use the helicopter."

"What? Why? What's going on?" she asked, reaching for him and resting her hands on his arms. He seemed unable to stand still, although he calmed slightly under her touch. "What happened?" she asked again, her eyes searching his.

"They got out."

"They what? Who?" Claire said, stunned, although she was sure she already knew the answer.

"Of course, they had to do so while I'm not there," he continued, pushing a frustrated hand through his hair. "Just like them to wait until I was gone."

"The raptors," Claire said slowly. "Where are they? Are you able to track them?"

"—And if they could get out, why didn't they break out of the main area? Surely that should've seemed like the better idea—"

"Wait, are you saying they're loose _in_ with everybody?" she asked, dread pooling in her gut. Oh god, she couldn't handle it if more people died. Not again. _Never_ again.

"I knew it's been too easy. I knew it!" Owen exclaimed, taking a step back and breaking away from her hold, although Claire was pretty sure he wasn't cognizant of his actions. He didn't seem to have heard her question. "It's been too easy. Things have been too good. They used to try to escape all the time here. Why should Sorna be any different?" He had been gesturing wildly in frustration as he spoke, but as he finished, he raised his hands, pressing his palms against his eyes.

"Is everyone okay?" Claire asked urgently. "Are people hurt?"

"I need to get back there," he said, his hands falling back to his side, his gaze locking onto hers. "I gotta–" he cut off, his gaze darting away, and she saw his hands clench briefly into fists. "I'm sorry, Claire. Dammit. This was supposed to be a vacation."

"Are people hurt?" she repeated, letting out a sigh of relief when he finally shook his head. "Are they still loose?" He shook his head again, but he didn't look any less tense. "Are the raptors okay?" He started to nod, before pausing, his head tilted in question.

"I think so?" Owen finally said, the words coming out more as a question than a statement. "Barry said they used the tranq guns." There was barely a moment of hesitation before he almost shouted, "God dammit!"

"Owen, it's fine," she soothed, reaching for him again, and this time he stepped towards her, his arms encircling her as hers wrapped around him. "It's an emergency. Things happen. Like you've always said, they're living beings with minds of their own. At least no one's hurt."

There was a brief moment where they just held each other, before Owen let out a sigh, pulling back slightly. "About that helicopter?" he asked again, wincing as he spoke. "I missed the boat and, well, it'd take too long anyway."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," she agreed, pulling back as well and heading for her desk. She picked up her phone and quickly put in a call to the control room, asking them to organize it. It didn't take long, but she watched as Owen paced her office impatiently.

"They'll be ready to go in 10 minutes," she told him as she hung up. "We can head up there now."

"We?" Owen looked surprised.

"I'm going to end up having to be in meetings about this. I might as well go see what happened first hand," she told him.

"But, you can't," he stammered.

"Why not?" Claire asked, heading for the small closet in her office, thanking her organization (and paranoia after the Indoraptor incident) that had led her to now keep a pair of sturdy hiking shoes there. She wasn't as dressed up as she normally would be (having got up early and still technically on vacation), and had thankfully worn pants that day, and so she decided the rest of her outfit would be fine.

"It could be dangerous," Owen finally said, and she looked up from switching out her shoes, the panic and worry on his face almost making her reconsider for a moment.

"You said they've already tranqed them. It'll be fine," she told him, bending back down to finish lacing her shoes.

"But they got out, it could happen–" he started.

"And we need to know how," she interrupted him. "It's not going to be like the Indoraptors. _They're_ not like the Indoraptors. And I'll stay by your side the whole time."

"I'd rather you stayed _inside_ the whole time," he muttered, and she chose to ignore the comment.

"C'mon, let's go," Claire said, reaching for his hand. "They should be almost ready for us."

o-o-o

By the time Claire crawled into her bed that night she was well past exhausted. It wasn't even that it had been a long day, at least not timewise. And it wasn't even all that late. Mostly, she just felt wrung out. And more than slightly pissed off. This was supposed to be her vacation. No, wait, correction, _their_ vacation, and yet she was going to bed alone.

The entire helicopter ride over to Sorna, she'd kept a tight grasp on Owen's hand, trying to be a steadying force for him. It hadn't worked. She'd watched as his knee had bounced uncontrollably, the trip taking too long, even though they were going as fast as they could.

By the time they'd touched down on Sorna, the raptors had already been relocated back to their paddock and were just starting to wake up. Barry, Zia and Hoskins were all gathered in the small holding pen, standing close to the inner gate watching them. Almost all of the on-island security unit was at the paddock, too. One man was in the holding pen, while the rest were spread out on the catwalk above, tranq guns loaded and held at the ready.

"How are they?" Owen had demanded as they'd joined the others, his hands gripping the gate tightly, and for a moment, there had been a part of Claire that had worried he was going to open it and go in.

The raptors were fine. No harm done. Although they had looked pissed off when they had woken up to find themselves back in their paddock.

What Claire had hated most from their reaction, was that it had been clear, even to her, that they were happy to see Owen. Which, of course, had just ratched up Owen's own guilt for not being there when they'd escaped and his assuredness that it had only happened because he'd been gone for so long. ("_You've been gone barely 48 hours," Claire had reminded him, but he'd remained unswayed._)

Once Owen had been convinced the raptors were okay, they had finally left the holding pen to go look at how the raptors had escaped. It had been part raptor ingenuity and part human carelessness. There was a section of the paddock wall that had been under repair and the temporary solution hadn't been properly secured. It probably would've held against most animals, but, based on their best guesses, the raptors had managed to use a stick almost as a poor man's crow bar, and leverage their way out.

Owen had vacillated between being pissed off that people had been so careless and in awe of the fact that the raptors had _used tools_. He had kept talking about it being a new potential area for his research, babbling excitedly with Barry. For all his annoyance that morning around her work cutting into their vacation, he didn't seem at all concerned that it was now _his_ work that was interrupting it. They hadn't looked at the escape route for long, before security had called them back, sounding concerned the raptors were getting restless.

Claire knew she should be relieved that no one was injured, that the raptors hadn't seemed interested in trying to hunt anyone down (or even really _escape_ escape), and that it had all been easily taken care of. However, she just kept hearing Hoskins' comment playing on repeat in her head — "_See? I told you it would be better for us to get them off Nublar. Imagine if this had happened there!_"

She couldn't help herself _but_ keep imagining that.

The Mosasaur incident had been bad enough, even though no one was hurt and they'd come up with a relatively quick and simple solution. They'd ended up adding a second fence that was on a 50 degree angle that stretched out over the lagoon, so if the Mosasaur wanted to jump again, she'd have to clear that fence before she could even reach land (and the original fence). But, even so, they'd had a second dip in attendance following that incident, and a second hit to their guest satisfaction score.

By the time the excitement over everything had started to settle, the sun was hanging low in the sky. While they _could_ take the helicopter out at night, she much preferred to use it during the day. And, while they _could_ spend the night on Sorna, she couldn't help picturing waking up to find a raptor staring in through the window.

She hadn't been surprised when, once she'd brought up the need to head back to Nublar, Owen's face had fallen, his gaze jumping between his raptors and her. She'd known what he was about to say before he'd even opened his mouth.

Claire wanted to be mad. And, she was, sort of. But, she knew she'd have made the exact same choice if she'd been in his shoes, and she hadn't been able to bring herself to even offer up a token of protest. Instead, she'd told him to be safe and had given him a quick kiss before climbing into the helicopter.

However, lying alone in bed now, realizing she technically still had one more day of vacation ahead of her but no one to spend it with, she could feel her frustration and anger building. Weren't vacations supposed to be relaxing? To make you think about not going back to work? Although… Hmm. Turning on her side, Claire contemplated her options. She'd originally thought about just going into work tomorrow, but now she had a new plan. Maybe it was time to put out some feelers and see what other job opportunities were out there. Ones where she wouldn't be woken in the middle of the night by life and death emergencies.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed the bit of clawen fluff in this chapter. And were also surprised by the events. I have been pushing really hard to finish a rough draft of the whole story — I'm chugging away at chapter 23. Looks like it'll be 25-26 chapters total. Maybe an epilogue. So, we're about halfway through! _

_Thanks for sticking with it. I hope you continue to enjoy it. As always, I'd greatly appreciate it if you took a few seconds to leave a comment. But, either way, see you next week. :)_


	14. Chapter 14

_Hey, hope you're still enjoying reading this. I apologize if it's been feeling a bit repetitive. Maybe I should've done some larger jumps in time, but I thought it might be nice to cover more of their day to day lives too. I do promise it will start to pick up and that everything will start to come together._

**Chapter 14**

**This meeting is so boring**. Claire sent the text off as she sank a bit lower in her seat. The meeting she was attending really _was_ boring. It was a regular meeting that occurred once a month, where she and representatives of the various paddocks met to discuss the animals and any concerns that had come up. It was a meeting that she rarely found valuable, in terms of her own time. It was important that issues got brought up and dealt with in a timely manner, but it always felt like anything serious could be raised separately and that the seal of approval she gave could easily be done after the fact. Each month she'd pick her seat specifically to try to remain as inconspicuous as possible while she'd spend the meeting usually checking her email.

**All meetings are boring. **Owen's reply was almost instant, and predictable. She fought back the eye roll his words evoked. Almost immediately, he followed it with a second message. **Wait, what happened to your rule about no phones in meetings? **

Oops, she'd forgotten she'd told him about that. And it was a rule she generally did follow. **I don't need to take notes in this one.** Before he could reply and push her on it, she followed up. **What's going on with you? Anything exciting?**

**Not really. Regular day here.** His text included the shrugging emoji. **Sorry. **

Claire let her phone drop to her lap, trying to tune back into the conversation going on. They were in the middle of talking about some additional enrichment activities for the Baryonyx. She knew she should care, at least in the sense that she didn't want any of the animals bored or depressed. But, she had no idea what was a good suggestion and what wasn't. It felt sort of ironic that it was a meeting where Owen would actually be much more useful than she was.

**Oh, I know something you could help me with. I need to start coming up with names.**

Claire read the message a couple of times, her brow creasing. Names? Names for what? **What are you naming?**

**My raptors. **

Before she could text him back — his raptors already _had_ names — she could see he was writing again, so she waited.

**Right now they've just got batch identifiers. But, when they hatch, I want to have names ready. **

Oh, right, the new batch.

Even though Claire had seen the eggs incubating when she was out there, she preferred to not think about them, and Owen hadn't brought them up recently. She was pretty sure they were both actively avoiding the topic, knowing that it wasn't an area that they were going to agree on. It was not that she was _against_ InGen making another batch (although, yeah, she kind of was), it was that she was against Owen being involved with them.

Claire knew how attached he was to his girls. It was a fact that was constantly on her mind as she'd continued, halfheartedly, job hunting. She still wasn't sure if she actually wanted to find something. And, if she did, well, where would that leave them? She barely saw him as it was. If she moved somewhere else that would be the end, right? There was no way he'd leave his girls, and there was no way she could ever bring herself to ask him to.

Focusing back on his text, she sent a reply. **You're not planning on just continuing the military alphabet? Foxtrot and… I don't know what comes next.**

**I would, except after Foxtrot it's Golf and Hotel. **

His response made her snort, which she then had to quickly cover with a cough, as a few people turned and looked in her direction. She hid her phone, trying to look like she'd been paying attention all along. Once she was sure everyone forgot about her again, she wrote back. **Hmm. Whenever I think of names, it's always ones like Fred, Bob or Dave that come to mind. **

**Those are all guys names. **

Claire was tempted to write back "so what." They were dinosaurs. Why did it matter? They wouldn't care. Instead, she sent back a set of girl names. **Okay, well, what about Rose, Lily or Jasmine?**

**I'm not naming them after flowers. **

She did a double take, re-reading her list of names before conceding he was right. Yeah, flowers seemed too… delicate for raptors. She debated briefly on what names to send next, before grinning to herself as she typed them out. **Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe? **

"_Well, what do you think, Ms. Dearing?_"

Claire looked up when she heard her name to see that everyone had turned and was looking in her direction. Crap, she had no idea what they were even asking her about. Hoping she wasn't going to make a fool of herself, she chose to go with, "Whatever you think is best, I'm okay with." When everyone mostly nodded, turning back to the main speaker, Claire relaxed. Whoops. She really should be trying to pay attention. Except… well, she'd felt her phone buzz, and she knew there was another message from Owen. She waited a few seconds to make sure that it didn't look like they were going to ask her anything else before she checked the screen.

**Really? Friends? You can do better than that.** The message was immediately followed by more blinking dots and again Claire waited for the rest. **And those don't sound like raptor names. **

She couldn't help her eye roll that time as she tapped out her response. **Nothing sounds like a raptor name. **

**Blue, Charlie, Delta and Echo do. **As she read the text, Claire could just picture the look on his face. She knew he'd be pouting somewhat. But, hey, she had offered up a bunch of names. If he didn't like what she suggested, well… **Then you pick. I don't care what you name them. **

**I thought you wanted a distraction? **

Claire was about to respond when the sound of chairs scraping against the floor, followed by a general increase in volume startled her and she looked up, realizing the meeting was over. Quickly pushing back her own chair, she got up and darted out of the room before anyone could flag her down. She had paid much less attention than usual, and didn't want to be blindsided by questions she should be able to answer, but wouldn't know what they were talking about.

Once she was free, she pulled her phone out again. **I did, but the meeting's over now. I've got to get back to work. **

**Oh, so you were just using me. ;)**

Laughing, she started up the stairs, having decided to skip the elevator where she already saw a group of people waiting. As she walked, she texted back: **Always**

**I'm hurt.**

She bit her lip around a smile. **You're a big boy. You'll get over it. **

Exiting the staircase, she started down the hall to her office. When she spotted Zara, she waved for her assistant to join her. Maybe it was about time she started grooming Zara to be able to take on some of these meetings for her. Not only would it free up her schedule some, but it was always good to have backup in place; someone who could jump in should she not be able to, or should she actually find another job and leave.

Her phone buzzing in her hand had her looking down, Owen's response making a smile break wider out across her face. He really could be a little kid sometimes. **I think you should come kiss it better. **He'd included a selfie where he was pouting at the camera, although she was distracted by Blue photobombing in the background, the raptor looking unimpressed at her alpha's actions.

**Too bad you're not closer or I would. **

His response was immediate. **Ugh, not fair. **She smiled slightly, but let her phone drop back down to her side as Zara reached her.

"How was the meeting?" Zara asked, falling into step beside her.

"Boring," Claire admitted. "Actually, I was just thinking that maybe we should start having you take on that meeting."

"So _I_ can be bored?" Zara asked, an eyebrow raised.

"So we can start expanding your responsibilities," Claire replied. She could feel her phone vibrating in her hand as another message arrived, but she ignored it. "But, yeah, sometimes they're less exciting than they sound."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind taking on some more," Zara agreed eagerly.

"Great," Claire nodded. "Mark out some time in my calendar for us to talk about it. Maybe half an hour?"

When Zara pulled out her phone to make a note to do so, Claire used the opportunity to glance back at her own phone and check Owen's response. **When do you think you'll be over here next?**

It was just over a week ago that their vacation had been cut short. Maybe she could swing another trip over there to check on the lab and the Apatosauruses. The Compys were probably due to hatch soon, too. **Let me see what I can arrange.**

o-o-o

"I still can't believe you authorized another batch of Compys," Owen said with a shake of his head. "Why?"

"You know why," Claire reminded him. "There's some virus going around that has wiped almost all of them out. We need replacements." She picked up the burger on her plate and took a bite.

"But Compys? They're like… I don't know, the dinosaur equivalent of rats, except they're more likely to kill you," Owen continued, looking across the table at Barry who was sitting with the two eating lunch. Barry nodded in agreement.

Claire, on the other hand, just ignored his response and kept on eating, having heard his complaints about Compys many times before. Owen had forgotten that there was a batch of them that had been incubating and, as much as he didn't like the species, he was actually sort of happy about their hatching, as it had given an excuse for Claire to come back.

She'd come over first thing that morning to check in on the Compys that had hatched over the previous couple of days and to see how the Apatosauruses were doing. Her plan was to spend the day on the island, even though her meetings with Wu and the others in the lab had all been completed over the morning. He knew she was extending her visit to have more time to visit with him, and he wasn't about to complain. It was nice to be doing something mundane like just eating lunch together. And he was looking forward to showing off his girls in the afternoon, assuming no one else suddenly decided they needed her attention or that she was urgently needed back on Nublar.

"Mind if I join?"

Owen looked up to see that Zia was standing beside their table. She had already placed her food down and was pulling out the chair next to Barry without waiting for a response.

"Of course, Zia," Owen nodded. He waited until she was settled before doing introductions. "You've met Claire, right?"

"Ms. Dearing, yeah," Zia said enthusiastically. "I mean, sort of. You gave a talk at one of my orientation meetings last year. And you were here when the Apatosauruses were born."

"Claire's fine," Claire said, reaching across the table to quickly shake Zia's hand. "Zia… You're the vet here, right?"

"I am," Zia said.

"How come you weren't in the meetings this morning?" Claire asked and Owen looked up from his burger in surprise, his gaze darting from Claire to Zia. That was odd, surely Zia should've been a part of that.

"Dr. Wu told me my presence was 'unnecessary,' " Zia replied with a shrug.

"That's odd," Claire said, reaching over to Owen's plate to steal one of his fries.

"It was okay, I spent most of my morning checking over the Compys. Thankfully they're doing better than the Apatosauruses did at first. These ones all seem to be thriving," Zia said, picking up her burger and taking a bite..

Claire slowly chewed on her fry before commenting, "I asked about you, and Henry said you were busy."

"Why do you think he did that?" Owen asked as he pushed his plate closer to Claire when she reached over again. He'd tried to convince her to get her own fries when they were getting their lunches, but she had said that she wasn't all that hungry. He was glad now that he'd been able to get a double portion.

"Do you think he could be hiding something?" Barry asked.

Owen watched Claire immediately stiffened at Barry's question, her gaze darting across the table towards Zia. He reached out, under the table, and patted Claire's leg. She looked over at him, her gaze questioning, and he knew that she was wondering if it was okay to be talking about this around Zia. He tilted his head in a slight nod. He and Barry had become more and more friendly with the vet over the past few weeks and he felt comfortable sharing their concerns around her.

"Like what?" Claire said, before shaking her head dismissively before either of them could answer. "It's probably just Henry being Henry. He likes to be in control. Doesn't like it if he can't predict what everyone is going to do or say."

"There were a lot of deaths again, weren't there?" Barry continued, lowering his voice. "I thought I heard that half the Compy eggs didn't even hatch."

"But that's normal," Zia said. "Almost no species has a success rate greater than 50%. I was concerned at first — not with the Compys — just in general, when I started here. But that's still a huge improvement over the past, and we're also getting better and better at keeping them alive once they do hatch."

"Why so many?" Owen brought up his question from before. "Do you really need another dozen of them?"

"I think Dr. Wu was a little concerned with the changes he'd made to their genes," Zia answered, even though Owen had directed his question at Claire. He saw that Claire was nodding in agreement. "He seemed nervous about this batch. And he's been on my case about them ever since they've hatched."

"Why?" Claire asked, frowning. "I know he said he was tweaking some stuff, but they always do. Were the changes bigger than normal?"

"Not that I know of," Zia shrugged, putting her burger down and picking up a fry. "I think he's been especially nervous after the incident with the Apatosaurus in the last batch."

"Now _that_ was weird," Owen remarked. "How did a mistake like that get made? A dinosaur declared dead that was actually alive."

"Don't look at me," Zia raised her hands in self defence when they all turned to her.

"You're the vet, wasn't that–?" The question hung in the air unfinished, but they all knew what Owen was asking.

"Normally, yes," Zia agreed. "And I did declare the two that were dead. But not the third."

"What do you mean?" Claire leaned forward, the fries forgotten, her voice dropping. "Why not the third? Who declared that one?"

"I wasn't here," Zia said. "I was on Nublar when it was declared dead. When I came back, it was already stored with the other two, ready for transport."

"You didn't see it?" Barry asked, surprised.

"No," Zia replied, her gaze darting between them. "I'm not responsible for necropsies. That happens on Nublar. And the death was recorded the day before I got back. There was no reason for me to doubt them."

"Huh," Claire said, leaning back in her seat.

"Then who declared it dead?" Barry asked, his voice low.

"Wu?" Owen asked, his own eyes widening, as he thought about what that could mean.

"I think he was one, yeah," Zia replied, her head tilted in thought. "But it wasn't _just_ him. There were a few people who signed off."

Huh, Owen thought. So it was probably legitimate. Well, that didn't necessarily mean that Wu _wasn't_ involved in something else more nefarious. "Maybe Wu's trafficking in dinosaurs now." He threw out the suggestion, not really believing what he was saying. "Trying to make some extra cash on the side."

"Ugh, last time you brought up that theory I told you how crazy it was," Claire grumbled. "And it's _still_ crazy."

"We're on a different island now," Owen reminded her. "It's not the same situation."

"It hasn't changed all that much," Claire disagreed. "We still track the eggs. We have detailed records about how many are incubated, how many fail to hatch, and what happens once they do. Every dinosaur that does hatch gets implanted with a tracker… It's really not as easy as you want to believe."

"You're just not thinking creatively enough," Owen replied, grinning widely as she groaned. He couldn't help himself, ducking over to give her a kiss. He was fully cognizant that they were surrounded by others eating their own lunches, and so he kept it to a short peck. Pulling back slightly, he told her, "It's okay, I love you anyway." His eyes were locked on hers and he could tell she was fighting back a smile, wanting to be annoyed with him.

"Oh!" Zia's exclamation had them both looking away from each other and across the table. "_Claire _is your girlfriend."

"You didn't know that?" Owen asked, his brow furrowed, watching as Barry hid his laughter by taking a giant bite of his lunch.

"I don't think you've ever said her name before," Zia replied. "I mean, you've mentioned Claire, but I always just thought she was your boss. I never connected the dots that she and your girlfriend were the same person." She looked a little embarrassed at her realization. "I probably should've. I mean, you work for Hoskins and InGen, not Jurassic World."

"She's not my boss," Owen confirmed.

"I'm sort of your boss," Claire countered, giving him a grin when he looked over at her. He was a little surprised when this time _she_ was the one who leaned over to give him a kiss, although it was just as short as his had been. She stayed close however, whispering her next words. "But, I love you, too."

"What about body parts?" Zia's comment interrupted them again, and they both settled back in their seats. Owen rested his hand on Claire's thigh under the table, although he turned it over when her hand landed on top of his, and he laced their fingers together.

"What about body parts?" he asked, before picking up the last bit of his burger with his free hand.

"I agree that getting live dinosaurs off the island would be hard," Zia said, her face furrowed in concentration. "But, unfortunately, a lot of the value we place on animals doesn't require them to be alive. We use them for food and to make medicines. We wear them as clothing…"

"I'm not disagreeing that people wouldn't like access to any of that," Claire started, "but, again, we track everything. Once the animals go through a necropsy their remains are cremated. And part of the reason we do that is specifically so that nothing like that could happen." She looked at them apologetically. "We've put in barriers everywhere to prevent people from being able to do anything like what you're suggesting. I know you don't like Henry," she looked specifically at Owen as she said that, who just gave her a half shrug, "and I don't agree with everything that he does, but I can't see him doing anything like this. He's always been about the science first."

"People can change," Owen reminded her. "And look at the last couple of monsters he created."

"He's not doing that now, though. Things are better," Claire said. "I think you guys are just bored here. Looking for excitement where there isn't anything to be found."

"Probably," Barry agreed, glancing at his watch before pushing back from the table. "We gotta get back to the girls. Owen?"

"Right," Owen said. "Work. Are you still free, Claire? Want to come say hello?"

"I am and I will, but… Zia, if you have a few minutes, maybe I can ask you those questions I had first."

"Sure," Zia agreed readily, her lunch still only half-finished in front of her.

Owen stood up, reaching for his plate but Claire's hand stopped him. "Leave it," she said. "I'll clean up."

"You should've just gotten your own fries," Owen teased, looking at the few still left on his plate.

"Why? You didn't eat all of yours. Now they won't go to waste."

He was tempted to admit that he'd got extra just for her, but decided not to. He'd happily get extra fries just to see her smile at him like she was now. "See you in a bit?"

"Yeah, I'll come by once I finish here," Claire agreed.

Owen followed after Barry, stopping in the doorway to glance back at Claire, but she was already engrossed in conversation with Zia, the two leaning towards each other over the table. He knew he'd missed her, and while he enjoyed getting to spend time with her on Nublar when he managed to get back there, he was realizing that part of what he missed most were moments like this. The ability to just catch up quickly during the day face-to-face, able to just enjoy the moment without thinking about the clock ticking down until they were separated again. Of course, today wasn't really all that much better. The clock was still there, and she'd still be leaving in a few hours. But, in the meantime, he'd take all the moments he could get.

o-o-o

Claire was hurrying along Main Street, glancing worriedly at her phone which, unfortunately, was currently dead in her hand and so was completely useless. The whole morning had had her running around the resort area putting out one metaphorical fire after another. And, as if that hadn't made for a crappy enough start to her day, now her phone was dead. She was hoping that she'd have enough time to charge it before the next emergency or meeting called her away. And, if not, that she could grab the external battery pack she was hoping was still in her office.

She wasn't really paying any attention to what was going on around her, singularly focused on her destination, until she realized she was passing Starbucks. The site of the store reminded her that she hadn't had lunch and she hadn't realized just how hungry she was. The shop was busy when she entered, but thankfully she recognized one of the employees, Amy, who was working behind the counter. Amy saw her and gestured for her to come up to the counter. While Claire generally didn't like using her position to cut lines, she made exceptions on days like this.

"What can I get you?" Amy asked when Claire reached the counter. There was a knowing smile on the girl's face and Claire knew that she must be looking frazzled.

"Grande london fog, and do you have any of your protein boxes?" Claire asked.

"Um, I'm not sure. Let me check. It's the fruit and cheese one you like, right?"

"Yeah, but today I'll take anything," Claire said. Amy nodded before going to look while Claire fidgeted by the counter. She wasn't used to not having anything to do. And it was not that she _didn't_ have things to do right now, but with her phone dead she couldn't do any of them, which just made her more anxious.

"Managed to grab you the last one," Amy said, handing it over.

"Thanks so much, Amy," Claire gave her a grateful smile. "It's been a day."

"No problem. Your drink will be just a minute."

Turning away from the counter, Claire let her gaze travel over the restaurant, the steady hum of voices creating a white noise that was actually somewhat soothing. Looking past the crowd, she looked out the window. It was a nice day and Main Street was crowded with visitors, many decked out in Jurassic World apparel or carrying licensed merchandise.

The sight of someone in a business suit caught her eye, but before she could focus on who it was, Amy was calling her name. Turning back around, Claire again thanked the girl profusely for helping her out, and Amy promised to add the food to her tab, waving away the thanks. Picking up her drink and lunch, Claire turned back to the door, trying to find the person who had caught her attention as she waded through the crowd and back out onto Main Street.

She was just starting to think she'd been mistaken when she caught a glimpse again. _Eli Mills._ Right, she had a meeting with him scheduled that afternoon, but in the hustle and bustle of the morning had already forgotten that he was back on the island. He was talking to someone under the awning of one of the buildings, both him and his companion half hidden in the shadows.

"Excuse me." A voice from behind had Claire turning slightly, before stepping to the side as she realized she was blocking the entry way to Starbucks.

"Sorry," she apologized quickly, before looking back over at Eli. While she was partly curious as to who he was talking to, she was also debating how she could slip by him without him seeing her, as he was between her and where she needed to go, and she didn't want to get stopped now.

Seeing a large family passing by, Claire tucked herself in beside them, using them as sort of a moving shield. However, as she passed by Eli's spot, the man he was talking to came into focus and Claire's jaw dropped, her brow furrowing. _Hoskins_? How would Eli know Hoskins and what could those two possibly have to talk about? She frowned, watching as Hoskins appeared to be arguing something forcefully, his finger almost poking Eli in the chest. She couldn't see Eli's face from her position, but she could tell from his posture that he wasn't intimidated by whatever Hoskins was saying.

Claire was still struggling to process what she was seeing when suddenly Hoskins turned and headed off. She quickly looked away, not wanting to be spotted, but also not wanting to be caught staring. Suddenly realizing that she was standing essentially in the middle of the street, she started walking again hurriedly, trying to put some distance between her and Eli. Unfortunately, she only made it a few steps before she heard her name being called.

"Claire. Claire, wait up!"

Slowing to a stop, she grimaced briefly, before putting on a smile and turning around. So much for having a few minutes to herself before her afternoon meetings. "Eli, how are you doing?"

o-o-o

"Hey, Aunt Claire?"

Claire looked across the table at Zach, surprised to see the nervous expression on his face. She'd tried to make it a point to have a meal with him every couple of weeks over the summer, and now that it was August and he'd be leaving soon, she'd been upping the frequency of her invites. So far, he hadn't turned her down and she had to admit that that made her feel pretty good. It wasn't that long ago that she would have been avoiding having this much contact with everything that she had (and she knew that Zach would've, too).

"What's up?" she asked when he didn't say anything else. She lay her chopsticks across her bowl, picking up her drink and taking a sip as she waited him out

"You know how my internship is ending soon," he started, and she nodded when he paused. "Well… I've been thinking about it. Ever since you helped me get switched to the mechanics department, I've been really enjoying my time here. Not that I wasn't before. I was, just…" She watched as he hung his head for a second, before lifting it to meet her gaze again, his posture straightened as he took a deep breath. "I was wondering if I could stay. If there was a way to keep working here."

"What about school?" she asked, surprised when her question made his face fall.

Zach grimaced a little. "I don't want to go back to school," he admitted after a brief pause. "I know that college is a good experience. And that it can open doors and all that. I've _heard_ all of that over and over again. I just–I don't think it's for me." He shrugged, before looking at her, his gaze pleading. "I know I'm not dumb. But I'm not like Gray. I'd rather use my hands and create something."

"You can do that with a college degree too," she said automatically, before snapping her jaw closed and shaking her head briefly. "Sorry. I'm just not really sure what to say. Or what I _should_ say. Have you talked with your mom about this?"

"I didn't want to bring it up with her until I'd talked to you," Zach admitted. "I was hoping when I told her, I'd be able to show her that I had a job. You know she'll go on and on about that."

"All of our mechanics went to school, you know," Claire said. "I'm not saying they have bachelor degrees," she quickly continued before Zach could protest, "but they usually have at minimum a technical certificate. And, the ones with just that don't usually stay all that long." She felt bad, knowing that what she was about to say wasn't what Zach wanted to hear. "Really, it's those who've come with a lot of experience or who went to school for engineering who actually are the most successful here. While we do have a bunch of vehicles around, as you've probably noticed that's actually probably the smallest component of what they work on. They also work on maintaining the rides and the gyrospheres and the monorail. And we prioritize hiring those who can branch out and also work on fixing things like the perimeter fences when they go down."

As expected, she watched as his expression fell further as she spoke. When she finished, she gave him a few moments, taking another bite of her meal and chewing slowly while she waited.

"Is that a 'no' then?" Zach finally asked.

"It's a… It's not a 'no,' well, not completely. More of a… I think you should talk to your mom," Claire stumbled. "If Business isn't for you, that's fine. But, that doesn't mean there isn't another degree you should be pursuing. Or, maybe you should go to a trades school instead. Get your auto technician certificate."

He didn't say anything as she took another bite, just pushing his own food around his plate.

"You know," she started, waiting until he looked up and met her gaze again. "You know, I've heard a lot of good things about you from the crew. They like working with you. I'm sure they'd like it if you stuck around. But, internships are only for four months. And not just that, but internships are only available to students. You don't have the qualifications to be brought on as a full time mechanic."

"Aren't you the boss?" Zach asked. "Can't you waive those requirements?"

"Ha, you wish," Claire laughed. "Zach, I'd love to keep you around longer. I've really liked having you here. But, to be honest, to do that you'd end up back in the type of job you were in before. The one you _didn't_ like. Even those business classes are probably preferable to that." He finally gave her a weak smile as he nodded his agreement. "Talk to your mom. And your dad. Look into changing majors or schools. And maybe next summer you can come back as an intern again. And then, before you know it, you'll be in a position where I _can_ hire you full time."

"Yeah," he said, still somewhat sullen, but she was happy when he started to eat again. "Does life ever get any easier? Figuring out what you want to do and then being able to do it? I mean, I know you've always known what _you've_ wanted to do…"

"I didn't, not really," she disagreed. "I knew I wanted to be in business. I knew I wanted to run something someday. But, Jurassic World — really, even just the idea of a theme park — was never in my plans. I came out here for an internship like you, and, well... " She looked around the restaurant and out the window at all the people walking along Main Street. "I guess I sort of fell in love with it."

"And then you never left," Zach replied with an eye roll. "I've heard _that_ story a lot."

"That's an exaggeration," Claire said with a wave of her hand. "I know Kar—your mom likes to say that. But, I did leave. In fact, I was just like you. At the end of my internship, I wanted to stay. I thought I could just work my way up, that I didn't need school. But, it was actually Simon — Mr. Masrani — who convinced me otherwise. He told me the job would still be here for me in a couple of years when I finished. And, that I could keep coming back for the summers in between."

Claire was surprised that Zach seemed interested in her story, and she was happy that he was looking less downtrodden, so she continued.

"He told me that while there was a lot you could learn 'boots on the ground' style, it was always good to have a solid foundation of knowledge to start with. That it would make those early years — the tough years of finding your footing — easier. I didn't believe him then," she said with a bit of a laugh. "But, he was right. I came back every summer, armed with the knowledge I'd gained from my courses. And each year I was able to try out a different job here, one with a bit more responsibility. By the time I graduated and got hired here permanently… well, my first full time position was much higher up the ladder than where I would've been if I had just stayed and worked."

"So you're telling me to go back to school," Zach said when she finished.

"I'm saying to explore your options," Claire corrected. "Look into what programs are out there. And know that Jurassic World will still be here. That's assuming, of course, that'd you still want to work here in a couple of years."

"What if changing programs means taking some time off?" he asked, his gaze sly.

"Then let me know, and I'll see what I could hire you for. But, remember that I can't guarantee it'll be with the mechanics. It could be back working in a kiosk."

"You'd think being related to the boss would have more perks," Zach grumbled, which made Claire burst into laughter. "What? What's funny about that?"

"Everyone just wants me for my perks," she said, grinning at Zach's confusion, before clarifying, "Owen said something similar to me a couple of years ago."

o-o-o

"Are you sure it's okay that I'm here?"

Claire looked over at Zach who was trailing after her as they walked towards the lab building on Sorna. He'd been asking her that question ever since she'd phoned him first thing that morning and said she had something special planned, but that he had to get to control ASAP. When he'd shown up, looking barely awake, she'd passed him a cup of coffee, before leading him out to the helipad where he'd looked even more confused as they'd boarded the waiting helicopter.

"As I've already said a million times — _yes_!" She held the door to the building open and gestured him to head inside ahead of her. "I didn't tell you before, because I didn't think the timing was going to work out before you left. Also, I know Owen has wanted a chance to say goodbye. Stop worrying about it. Remember, I'm the boss."

Before Zach could reply, they heard Owen exclaim "You're here!" and they turned to see him approaching them. Owen headed straight for Claire first, greeting her with a quick kiss, before turning to look at Zach, his hand sliding around to rest on Claire's lower back. "Zach, glad you were able to make it."

"Are you sure–" Zach started to ask again.

"Totally fine," Owen reassured him, and Zach's shoulders immediately relaxed.

"What, you won't believe me but you'll believe him?" Claire asked and Zach just shrugged.

"They're his raptors."

"They're not _his_," Claire grumbled, turning to Owen before he could protest. "They're _not_ yours. InGen owns them, remember?"

"They may own them, but I'm the one they're going to imprint on," Owen said. "But, come on, I need to get back in there." He pointed in the direction he had come from. Claire was surprised when Owen held her back as Zach started forward, a little worried there was something he couldn't say in front of Zach. But Owen just pressed a quick kiss to her temple, before whispering, "I know you're not all that excited about this, so thanks for coming."

"It's not that I'm not excited," she started, although she amended her words when Owen just raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Okay, I'm not super excited about this. I just wish I was able to see you more and I know that this makes it all that more unlikely."

Owen gently nudged her in the direction of the lab and the two started following after Zach who had paused to look back at them. "I know. And I want that too. But, and I really do hate to say this, I think Hoskins is a little bit right."

Claire looked up at him, unsurprised by the look of disgust on his face at the words. "Right about what?"

"That it will be different this time," he said. "I mean, I've always known that it won't be the same. Every animal is unique, after all. But we aren't going in as blind this time. Last time, there was no one to turn to. No one had ever done this before. All we had was some old notes. We've learned a lot since then. It won't make this easy, but I think it'll be eas_ier_."

"It's still going to eat up all of your time," Claire grumbled as Owen led them into one of the labs.

"I'll figure something out," he promised as they crossed over to the back, where a number of people were gathered around one incubator.

"Hey, Barry, Henry, Zia," Claire greeted the three she knew when they looked up.

"Good to see you, Claire." Barry offered her a smile, reaching out to give her a quick hug.

"Hi, Claire," Zia gave a brief wave before turning back to fiddle with some instruments she had laid out on a tray.

"Claire, I didn't know you were coming over for this," Henry said, a frown on his face. "The raptors aren't part of Jurassic World."

"They aren't," Claire agreed. "But, you also know that nothing is ever really _just_ InGen or _just_ Jurassic World. I'm here on behalf of Simon to keep an eye on this project as well."

"Hmm," Henry said, the frown still on his face. "Who's that?"

"This is my nephew Zach," Claire said, tugging Zach forward. "Zach, this is Dr. Henry Wu. He's the lead scientist for InGen and has been part of this project since the original dinosaurs were brought back in the early 90s." She wasn't surprised when Henry barely acknowledged Zach before he turned back to the incubator. "And that is Zia. She's a paleo-veterinarian."

Zia turned around at the introduction, reaching out to shake Zach's hand. "Hi."

"And this is Barry. He works with Owen. I can't remember if you met before," Claire introduced, her brown furrowing as she thought back to Zach's previous visits to the island.

"I recognize you," Zach said, nodding. "Yeah, from when we got to visit the raptor paddock back on Nublar. And you were also there, that day in the Valley."

"It's nice to meet you, Zach," Barry said, reaching out to shake his hand. "I don't think we got introduced the other times. How was your internship? Owen said you ended up working on the cars?"

As Barry, Owen and Zach started talking about what Zach had been doing all summer, Claire tuned out the discussion as the words meant nothing to her. Instead, she focused on the incubator, where five eggs remained nestled under the heat lamps. She knew that a few had already failed to progress, but she was surprised to see only five left. Claire knew Owen was hoping that he was going to end up with a pack of four again. She could see that a couple of the eggs were already showing some signs of cracking, but nothing had emerged yet.

Ever since Simon had asked her to be prepared to hop over to Sorna for the hatching, she'd been dreading the visit. Normally, she liked being around and getting a chance to see the baby dinosaurs. They were kind of cute, in that "so ugly it's cute" sort of way. But, the raptors were different. It wasn't that she was fearful of them (at least, not in the the way she felt about some of the carnivores they bred), but it was more about what they represented. She knew how attached Owen was to his girls and she didn't have any expectation that this new batch would be any different. After all, she'd heard him talk about the dolphins he'd worked with before he came to Jurassic World, his tone wistful. And, the worst part was that it wasn't like this was a personality trait she felt like she could really be annoyed over.

Still, she wasn't looking forward to him having two sets of raptors to manage and how that would impact his time. Which just made her feel guilty. She worked long hours herself. She was just lucky that her job had always meant that she could do some of her work while sitting on a couch with Owen in the evenings. It wasn't like he could bring the raptors home (and she definitely didn't want that, either).

"You okay?" Owen's arm slipped around her shoulders, pulling her into his side, his voice low.

"Yeah," she sighed, wrapping her own arm around his back. "It's good to see you."

"And you," he agreed. "Any chance I can convince you to spend a couple of days over here?"

"I gotta get Zach back today," Claire replied. "But, I might be able to get back here soon. I'll work on it."

"The new–"

Whatever Owen was about to say got cut off when Zia interrupted to point out that one of the eggs had cracked. Everyone's attention turned to the incubator, where one egg now had a large crack down one side with a hole appearing near the top. Claire could see a couple of claws tearing away at the edge, trying to make it bigger.

"Okay, this is it," Henry announced. "Let's back up and give Owen and Barry some space."

As Claire took a few steps backwards, she found herself watching Owen and the look of absolute exhilaration on his face as he crouched down, bringing himself eye level with the eggs. She may not be excited for this next step, but watching him, she also knew there was no way she could ever deprive him of this. This was what he was meant to do.

* * *

_Well, Zach's internship is over. :( But, at least he got to see some baby raptors, lucky guy. Of course, that also means that Owen's life is just getting busier... he's the not so lucky guy. _

_I'm excited to say that I have completed the rough draft of this story. It's currently 26 chapters. That may or may not get extended by one more if I figure out an epilogue. That looks like it'll take us to the end of May. :) _

_As always, I'm eager for any reviews/comments/or anything else you want to share._


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Standing outside the "nursery" where the baby raptors were currently living, Owen took a deep breath. He knew he needed to go in and start his training session for the day. He just didn't want to.

He wished he could feel as enthused about all of this as he had been back when his other girls were first born. Back then he couldn't wait to start each day. He'd spent countless hours in the nursery with them, getting them accustomed to his presence and playing and training them. And he'd loved every moment.

He just found he was struggling to find the same excitement with this current batch. He wanted to like them. He wanted to _want_ to be doing this. He just… didn't.

Naming them had been a nightmare. Nothing he'd come up with had ever felt right. Barry and Claire had tried to help, but it had still been a struggle. He'd wanted to have a grouping that made sense together, the way his girls' names did. But he also didn't want to give them names from the military alphabet again, and not just because he didn't like the next ones in the sequence. It just felt too much like they would be a replacement for his girls if he did.

He'd ended up naming them mostly based off of their colourings. The first one that hatched had been very reminiscent of Blue. She was a much lighter grey, though, but had a similar blue stripe (although it was also lighter). Owen had named her Sky.

The second to hatch had been a dark green colour, like the stripes on Charlie's back. Except this one was the same colour all over, and didn't appear to have a more distinguishing feature. He'd debated using Forest for a while, but it hadn't sound right. It was actually Zia who had suggested Fern, which worked.

Next up was a second grey one, although this one was a mix of various shades of grey with a sort of mottled look. Not spotted or striped. It reminded Owen more of camouflage than any specific pattern. With all the grey colours, he'd ended up going with Pepper.

The final one to hatch had caused his breath to catch in his throat. He was pretty sure he'd heard a sharp inhale from Claire behind him, but he hadn't turned to look. While he'd expected a range of colours, he hadn't expected one to be white. He'd thought she might be albino at first, except she didn't have the typical pink eyes. Which, of course, had then made him think of the Indominus.

It wasn't until that moment that Owen had realized he didn't actually know the "providence" of these raptors. He'd assumed they would be similar to the ones he already had, but he hadn't been told anything specific, and he hadn't thought to ask (mainly because he'd mostly been trying to pretend it wasn't happening). But at that moment, he'd felt a shudder run through him at the thought that Wu may have messed with these ones. How would he ever know if Wu had tweaked the DNA this way or that? Or if Wu had added some other random bits "just cause"?

Owen had buried his concerns at the time. He knew it wouldn't help anything to bring it up then. Not when he needed to be making sure the raptors were imprinting on him and Barry. That they spent their first few minutes with his undivided attention. Later, when he'd been finally giving them names, as the others had gathered a bit closer, he'd decided on calling the final one Snow.

And then he'd had four new raptors to take care of. Sky. Fern. Pepper. Snow.

While he'd been grateful for Claire's support and that she'd come over for the event (and especially her soothing hand on his back), Owen had ended up with pretty much no time to spend with her, aside from their brief moment when she'd first arrived. Once the raptors had hatched, he hadn't been able to leave their sides. She and Zach had hung around for a couple of hours before they'd headed back as Claire used the opportunity to also check in on the Apatosauruses and Compys and to talk with Wu about what was planned next.

Before they'd left, Claire and Zach had stopped back in to see him. He'd had a quick handshake and goodbye with Zach where he'd reminded the teen to reach out if he ever needed anything. There wasn't any privacy for his goodbye with Claire, and so they'd kept it short, a quick kiss and whispered I love you's and a promise from Claire to get back there as soon as she could.

He'd finally pulled himself away from the raptors late that evening, swapping places with Barry, who had left earlier to go spend some time with the girls so they wouldn't be feeling neglected. Owen had gone straight to see Blue and the others when he left. He had stood in the holding pen near the gates, wanting to feel as close to them as he could get. He'd realized his mistake the moment the three raptors had approached, all of them halting about ten feet back from the gate.

Blue had bared her teeth, snarling at him angrily. She'd looked at him for a long moment afterwards, before turning and leaving in a huff. Charlie and Echo had also snarled at him, before quickly following after their leader.

He blamed it on exhaustion from a long and emotional day that he hadn't thought that of course they'd be able to smell the presence of the other raptors on him and that he should've showered before he'd gone to see them. Of course, they were going to have to find out soon enough. It was not like he could forever be having to shower and change clothes each time he swapped between the two groups every day. His girls were just going to have to learn.

(He _had_ tried to bribe them to come back out with rats, but it hadn't worked. They had refused to see him that night. And then had been clearly pissed off at him and Barry over the next week. Barry and him had been making it a point to spend lots of time out at the paddock with the girls, trying to show them that they were still there, and it seemed to be slowly working. Although, it had meant for excessively long days. And the girls were still acting a bit aloof.)

But, right now, he needed to be focused on the new batch. And he needed to come up with a name for telling them apart. As much as he wanted to be petty and keep calling them the new batch, while Blue and Charlie and Echo were his girls, he had to get past his distaste for what was happening. It wasn't like the raptors had asked to be made. It wasn't their fault. He'd never be able to successfully bond with them and train them if he was forever keeping them at a distance. They were going to need to become _his_ girls, too.

In the meantime, he needed to keep working with them so that when their new paddock was ready (which, unlike the others, was going to just be a single area to start, with plans for expansion as they grew) they would be ready to transfer to it.

When Owen had agreed to move to Sorna, he'd never expected there would be another batch of raptors. But, even more so, he'd never expected that he was going to end up living surrounded by non stop construction.

As Wu's lab continued to get permission to work on new species, and as the number of baby dinosaurs on the island grew, so did everything else. They needed new paddocks for these animals. And nursery spaces. And more space for Zia to work. And all of this had meant more personnel, which meant more dorm space and offices and lounge and eating area. The perimeter fence had been extended too, in order to accommodate the additional buildings.

He still wasn't sure what he thought about all of that. Sure, it did feel a bit better having more than 10 people on the island. And it was nice that the boat was continuing to do daily trips between the two islands. But, it also meant a lot more noise and a lot less privacy. If this was going to end up like Nublar (minus the guests), it sort of felt like maybe they should've just stayed back there.

Grabbing the door knob, Owen took a final deep breath before turning it and pulling the door open. Immediately he could hear excited chirps from the four raptors as he crossed the threshold pulling the door closed behind him.

They may not be his girls (yet), and it may be hard for them to ever top or match what he felt for Blue and Echo and Charlie, but he did have to admit it was nice to be greeted with enthusiasm, especially after a tough morning with the other group. The room was divided by a chain link fence that separated the small entrance area where he stood from the area the raptors were, sort of mimicking the double gated entry the raptors' paddock had. He opened the door in the fence, a smile gracing his face as the raptors rushed towards him, Fern leaping as high as she could, trying to climb his leg, while Pepper's gaze was glued to the bag he was carrying, having already learned that it was where the food was kept.

Crouching down, Owen pushed down gently on Fern's back, placing his bag on the floor, laughing softly as Pepper and Sky immediately tried to attack it. He clapped his hands together to get their attention. "Okay, girls, are you ready?"

o-o-o

Claire had just stepped out of her car when her phone rang. She let out a frustrated huff, before reaching back into her car to retrieve it. So much for getting a short break.

However, when she looked at the screen to see who was calling, she was surprised to see that it was actually a Facetime call from Karen. She was a little unsure how well the connection would manage the video call, but she answered it anyway.

"Karen, what's up?" Claire asked, holding her phone up in front of her. She used her free hand to close her car door, before walking forward. At least talking to Karen should be (hopefully) a bit of a break.

"_Where are you?_" Karen asked, her head tilting as if that would help her see behind Claire. "_That doesn't look like your office or your place._"

"I managed to free up some time so I'm actually out at Owen's old lot," Claire said. "Here, I'll show you." She switched the camera on the call so she could broadcast what she was seeing instead. "It needs to be checked on occasionally. The storms that come through can do some damage. And, well, it's actually a really nice spot." She continued forward, slowly sweeping the camera from side to side. "He's got an old trailer out here and what he likes to optimistically call his bungalow." Claire rolled her eyes at that, even though with the camera focused out she knew Karen couldn't see her.

"_Doesn't really look like your kind of place,_" Karen commented. "_I can see why you kept your condo._"

"The inside is better than it looks, but yeah, not really my style," Claire agreed with a laugh. "But the rest of the lot makes up for it. It's on the edge of, well, either a large pond or small lake, depending on how you want to look at it. So he's got a small dock here." She headed past the bungalow to show it off.

"_That _is _nice,_" Karen agreed.

"Yeah, but my favourite part is actually this," Claire said, turning away from the water and heading over to the hammock that was swaying slightly in the light breeze. After she climbed in, she switched the camera around so Karen could once again see her. "This is what I really came out here for. It's been a long few days and I just needed to decompress."

"_How's your job hunt going?_" Karen asked, and Claire watched as the camera jostled around for a bit as Karen shifted on the couch she was sitting on.

"Ugh, don't even get me started," Claire groaned.

"_That bad?_"

"Yes," she said before immediately shaking her head. "No. Not bad exactly. More… I don't know what I want to do. And, well, not to brag, but the type of jobs I'm qualified for? They aren't the type that get posted to any old job board. They're more the type that someone headhunts for."

"_So? Update your LinkedIn. Put out some feelers. Let people know that you're looking._"

Karen's tone was so matter-of-fact that for a moment Claire actually believed her that it really would be just that simple. But, then again, Claire had been looking into this for a couple of months now, and she really hadn't made much progress.

"It's not that easy. I mean, I can do that, it's just–" Claire cut herself off.

"_What?_" Karen looked even more interested now.

"It's Simon," Claire admitted after a brief hesitation. "I know he'll find out."

"_Surely people can be discreet. I mean… you don't get to positions like yours if you can't._"

"There's really not a lot of positions like mine," Claire reminded her sister. "And I don't even mean the dinosaur stuff, which really makes mine unique. There just aren't a ton of major theme parks that are comparable. Most are much smaller. It's really places like Disney–"

"_You don't _have _to work at a theme park,_" Karen said, cutting Claire off before she could start ranting. "_You could work somewhere else._"

"Doing _what_?" Claire asked. "I don't know what else to do. A zoo would be a huge step down, after a place like this. And, well, I don't know that I want to just be shuffling from meeting to meeting all day."

"_Isn't that what you do now?_"

"No, not only meetings. Or at least not only meetings in boardrooms. I get out and see the paddocks. I take investors on tours. I'm down in the control room multiple times a day checking in on how things are going. I'm in the labs… It's one of the things I like most about the job," Claire said. "The variety. It's… I'm really lucky. There's really nothing like it."

As she said the words, Claire realized just how true they were. She was never going to be able to find a job even remotely like the one she had now. The same way that Owen would also never be able to find something comparable to what he was doing now. She knew that didn't mean they would both be stuck in their jobs for the rest of their lives. It just meant that when either or both of them was ready for something new, it was really going to be just that. Something _new_. And quite likely something _not _through Jurassic World or InGen.

Which just brought her back to one of her initial concerns. If she was actually ready to make that move now (and she still wasn't sure that she was), would Owen be ready to make that move with her? She was pretty sure she already knew the answer. As she lay there in the hammock, he was busy bonding with a second set of raptors. No, he wasn't going to want to just pick up and put this all behind them. Not now. Not yet.

"_What's with the face?_"

"What face?"

"_You were looking really deep in thought there. Kind of like this,_" Karen said, her brow furrowing, her gaze looking off into the distance. "_Where did you go_?"

"Just coming to a realization," Claire said. "I mean, it's not really a realization. It's all stuff I knew before but… Guess maybe I'm just finally accepting it."

"_Accepting what?_" Karen asked when Claire stopped.

"That Owen's not going to be ready to leave. Not yet, anyway. And what that means for me."

"It doesn't have to mean anything," Karen said immediately. "You're already long distance. You can do that from somewhere else, too."

"I _could_," Claire agreed. "But, I don't think I'm willing to. At least when I'm here, even if I can't get the time off when he can, I can still see him, even if it's just for a night or two. If I was farther away? Well, I just don't think it'd work. And there's no way I'd be able to go over to Sorna if it wasn't for my job." She paused, a bigger realization hitting her. "And you know what? It's really not even about Owen."

"What do you mean?"

"I know I'm feeling really frustrated with various aspects of my job right now. I know there are a bunch of things that I wish I could change. But, it's really a grass is greener type of situation, isn't it?" Claire didn't wait for Karen to respond. "No job is ever going to be perfect. And I think I keep forgetting about the parts of this job that I _do_ love. I love the variety my job brings. I have a number of colleagues I really enjoy working with. I love seeing how much this park has changed since I first came out, and then thinking about all the places we can take it going forward. I _love_ this island. It's–It's my home. Even if Owen and I broke up tomorrow — and no, I don't think that's likely — I want to be here. I mean, even when we broke up last time–"

"_Wait, hold up. Are you admitting now that you really were dating that whole time?_"

"No, not really." Claire rolled her eyes, Karen was never going to let that go. "We were…We've agreed that we both wanted it to be real, but that it wasn't, not really. It can't be, not fully, when you're both hiding it from the other. But, it doesn't matter. My point being that even after our disastrous first date, or the end of the _fake_ dating" — she made a point to emphasize fake — "I still wanted to be here. Even knowing he was here, that was never enough to make me want to leave."

Claire could feel tension draining out of her body at the realization. She hadn't realized just how much stress she'd been carrying around with all of this. She sank lower into the hammock, finally able to fully relax. Shifting slightly, she realized she could catch a whiff of Owen lingering on the fabric as a breeze ruffled her hair. The only thing that could make her realization any better, would be if Owen was there with her. But, since he wasn't — and couldn't be right now — at least she had this place.

"_Are you feeling better?_" Claire tuned back into the call, to see that her sister was watching her carefully. "_You're looking more relaxed_."

"I am," Claire agreed. "Thanks."

"_Hey, I didn't do anything._"

Claire smiled. "Sometimes it just helps to say it all aloud, you know?"

"_Yeah, I know_," Karen nodded. There was a short pause while the sisters just sat in silence, before Karen broke it. "_Zach called me today._"

"Oh yeah? How're things with him?"

"_They're okay, but it's still early days,_" Karen said. "_He managed to talk to his advisor and switch around some classes so he can try out some engineering options and get some credit there. We've agreed to re-evaluate over Christmas._"

"That's good," Claire nodded.

"_Yeah,_" Karen said. "_Actually, he told me the other day about your talk with him. That it was you who convinced him to come back. And to stay in school._"

"It was his choice," Claire shrugged.

"_Yeah, but he's not always the easiest to reason with,_" Karen said. "_So… thanks. I had a feeling he wasn't really happy with college, but he never wanted to talk about it with me. And… I have to admit that I was a little worried when he took the internship that he'd be like you–_"

"Hey, what's wrong with me?" Claire frowned.

"_Nothing," _Karen said quickly. "_I just… I wanted him to come home. I didn't want to lose another family member to that island._"

"You haven't lost me," Claire protested.

"_Maybe not now,_" Karen agreed. "_But… there were a lot of years where we didn't really talk. I don't want that to happen with him._"

"That's–" Claire stopped, taking a deep breath before she continued. "That's fair, Kar. But, it wasn't the island, you know? It wasn't Jurassic World that kept us apart."

There was a long pause and Claire almost started talking again, just to fill the silence, when Karen let out a heavy sigh before saying, "_I know. But that doesn't mean I can't harbour some ill will towards that place. Remember what almost happened to Zach and Gray?_"

"As if you'd ever let me forget," Claire said with a laugh.

"_Parent's prerogative,_" Karen said, laughing along. "_But, honestly, Claire? I'm really glad to have you back._"

"Yeah, me too."

o-o-o

"Hoskins, are you there?" Eli asked when he heard the click on the phone.

"_Yeah,_" Hoskins replied. "_What's so important that you needed to call?_"

"Just hold on a second," Eli replied, ignoring the question. "Henry, are you still there?"

"_Yes, but I don't have a lot of time,_" Henry answered. "_I've got things to do, you know. What's the point of this call?_"

"You both agreed that we wanted as little of this on record," Eli reminded them as he paced the length of his office. "And it's annoying having to keep phoning around trying to make sure we're all on the same page. I thought this would be easier." He was sick of feeling like he was constantly playing telephone tag, trying to fill in both Henry and Hoskins on what was happening. Inevitably, after the second conversation, where he'd mostly repeat everything he'd said in the first, something new would come up, and he'd feel like he'd need to repeat his first call. It felt like an impossible situation that he could never stay on top of. He was hoping having a group call would make it all simpler.

"_Sure, whatever,_" Hoskins agreed. "_But why do we need one today?_"

"I just got off the phone with my buyer, and he's very pleased with their sample," Eli informed them, turning as he reached the length of his office and starting his way back. "He's eager for more and he wants to know how quickly we can deliver. He's even willing to pay more for an accelerated schedule."

"_What does he want? More Compys?_" Hoskins asked. "_And how many?_"

"Yeah, Compys are fine," Eli said. "He was tossing around the idea of having half a dozen of them. But he also made a couple of comments about raptors and rumours that he's heard that they're trainable." Rumours that Eli, admittedly, may have been the one who initially started. But, Hoskins and Henry didn't need to know that. Eli just knew that they needed to keep the buyers interest level up, especially with the delays in delivery.

"_What do you think, Henry?_" Hoskins asked. "_How quickly could you cook up another batch of Compys?_"

" '_Cook up?' _" Henry repeated, his voice full of disgust. "_We don't '_cook' _them up. Every animal I've created has been carefully designed and bred. This isn't like slapping together a sandwich._"

"_Fine, how quickly can you breed a new batch, or whatever you want to call it? Are we talking weeks or months here?_" There was no mistaking the contempt in Hoskins's tone.

Even though Eli had been in contact with both of them for months now, he still felt like he didn't really know either of them. He wasn't sure what would set Henry off, and he increased the pace of his stride, fighting the urge to bite his nails as he waited for Henry's response.

"_I don't think they'll be wanting another batch of Compys anytime soon. Not until we are sure that we've solved the virus problem_," Henry said after a long pause during which Eli had started to think he was going to have to jump in and try to smooth things out. "_And, while it was one thing to fake the death of a single dinosaur, we can't do that for half a dozen of them. There'll be too many questions if a whole batch suddenly dies a month after hatching._"

Eli knew that what Henry was saying was right, but that was going to be a problem. If they couldn't fulfil orders, no one was going to want to deal with them. This would be dead before they'd managed to ever get it really going.

"_So we tell them we can only deliver one to two at a time,_" Hoskins said, sounding unconcerned.

Eli jumped on that. "That's not going to work. It's not just about this buyer. Word's going to get around. I've still been reaching out to other names I've been supplied. Now that we have a success, interest is just going to keep growing. I can't be telling everyone they'll have to wait a year or longer. We need to come up with a better solution."

"_Every batch I make is always carefully planned and accounted for_," Henry reminded them. "_I can't just randomly start incubating other batches and species. It uses up supplies that I have to account for. There are lab workers who would notice that there are more eggs than there are supposed to be. The eggs aren't even all just one size. Then here are the QR codes on the eggs that we use to track them. And there are–_"

"_We already know what's there,_" Hoskins interrupted. "_You constantly telling us what we can't do isn't helping. We need solutions._"

As Eli listened to them, he stopped pacing, sitting down behind his desk instead. He reached for a pen, picking it up and absently clicking it open and closed, as he leaned back in his seat.

"_You're the one who said there would be fewer eyes here_," Henry reminded Hoskins. "_That's not turning out to be the case. And it's not just the tracking of everything. The vet they've assigned here — Zia — she's been acting overly interested in everything I'm doing. And I've heard that she's becoming friends with Mr. Grady and Mr. Sembene. There's only so much I can do here. And… I'm still just doing the same stuff. You promised I'd be able to work on my own research again. That's not happening._"

"_It's still early_," Hoskins replied. "_You haven't been on Sorna all that long. We need InGen and Jurassic World to get comfortable with all this. Besides, it's not as bad as you're saying. They let you create another batch of raptors, after all._"

"Wait, there's more raptors?" Eli interrupted. How come he hadn't known that? Huh, the rumours he'd started felt more like fact, now. "Why didn't you say anything? I bet I could get easily three or four times as much for a raptor as we got for the Compy."

"_The raptors were created for Hoskins_," Henry replied with a sneer. "_Ask him why his dinosaurs aren't okay to take_."

Hoskins's response was immediate. "_Hey, I'd have nothing against selling a raptor, but there's no way that we'd manage to get that past Owen and Barry. The raptors are not like the other animals that are looked in on each day but mostly left alone. These guys are being trained. Owen and Barry are with them day in and day out. There's no way we could fake a death of one of them._"

Before Henry got a chance to say anything, Eli spoke up, sitting up straight in his chair and setting down the pen. "Maybe we're going about this the wrong way."

"_What do you mean?_" Henry sounded weary.

"We've been focused on the benefit of Sorna because it was less populated than Nublar. But, in the end, it seems like we're really stuck with all the same constraints."

"_Not _all _of them_," Hoskins said, but Eli ignored him.

"We're going to continually run into the same problems. It's always going to be a struggle to get the animals off that island. We're always going to be at the mercy of what InGen and Jurassic World want. We're–"

"_Right, you're not saying anything we don't know,_" Hoskins interrupted. "_Get to the point._"

Again ignoring Hoskins brusque manner, Eli just kept talking. "Why aren't we just selling the embryos instead? They're small and much easier to hide and get off the island. I know you're going to say you track them too, Henry, but surely they must be easier to create copies of." Now that he was saying it aloud, he was wondering why they hadn't considered it in the first place.

"_I could make copies, sure, but–_"

"_What now?_" Hoskins groaned, and Eli, for the first time on the call, was in agreement with him. Every option they'd raised Henry always seemed to have some (admittedly valid) reason why it wouldn't work.

"_If we sell them embryos, and if they can create their own dinosaurs, you do realize there's no need for us, right? And it still doesn't change that I'm not doing any new research._"

"_Who cares about new research,_" Hoskins dismissed Henry's concerns.

"_I do._" Henry's response was firm. "_You're asking me to risk my career being involved in this. I told you what I wanted out of it. If that's not going to happen, why should I continue to help?_"

Eli knew that Hoskins was probably about ready to fly off the handle, so he quickly jumped back in. "Okay, so we don't sell embryos. What if we had our own lab?" He could feel excitement spreading through him at the idea. "Think about it," he said, as he got up and started pacing around his office again, bubbling over with energy. "Our own lab would mean we can create whatever we want, on our own schedule."

"_Do you have any idea of the complexity of creating a new lab?_" Henry asked.

"Well, no," Eli admitted. "But you do."

"_And just where do you think we'd build this lab?_" Hoskins added. "_We'd need a lot of space. And we can't just repurpose any old lab. We're talking about dinosaurs, remember? We need stronger cages. We need sound proofing. We need–_"

Eli stopped at his window, overlooking the Estate grounds, as he cut off Hoskins. "We don't need to find space. We already have it. Right here. The whole basement of this Estate was used to do all of this before, remember? It hasn't been used for that in a while, and probably needs a good clean and some work, but we wouldn't be starting from scratch."

"_And who's going to do the work_?" Henry asked. "_I can't be in two places at once._"

For a moment, Eli felt like his hopes were dashed, unable to provide an answer right away. "So it's not a perfect plan. But it's the start of one. You have to admit it's better than what we've got right now. And we've got time to sort out all the details. I'll need time — and instructions — on how to set up the lab. Then we'll need to get embryos off the island. Surely in that time, Henry, you can come up with a way for this to work. Tell us who to hire. Come out here on a vacation or something. And, just think, you can start your research again. No one here to tell you no…"

o-o-o

"I have an idea!"

Claire hid her groan as she looked up to see Simon standing in her doorway.

While it wasn't common for him to randomly show up at her office when he was around (his schedule was generally packed), it wasn't unheard of, and it also wasn't the first time he'd started off with a similar statement. And if experience told her anything, well, she was going to end up spending the next hour explaining to him why his idea wasn't as brilliant as he thought it was.

"What's your idea?" she asked, watching as he practically danced into the room full of excitement. He settled into the chair opposite her, although maybe settled was the wrong word, considering he was practically bouncing in his seat.

"Pet dinosaurs," Simon started, only to immediately hold up a hand the moment Claire opened her mouth to respond. "Wait, wait, wait. Hear me out first."

She closed her mouth and nodded, settling back into her seat. Oh boy, this was going to be good.

"What does every child beg their parents for?" Simon asked, pausing and looking at her expectantly. She just waved her hand for him to go on. "A puppy. Or maybe a kitten. Everyone wants a pet."

"Sure," Claire agreed. "But a cat or a dog isn't likely to kill you. And not only that, but they can also _fit_ into a house."

"But those are just details," Simon said with a wave of his hand.

"Important details," she reminded him, suppressing her groan. It felt like every time she saw Simon now they ended up having this same conversation, where she'd point out an important detail, and he'd try to wave it away as unimportant.

"I'm not thinking that we sell people a full grown Triceratops. But imagine if you could get one that was 1/10 of the size? One that only grew to a couple feet long." Simon was gesturing with his hands, emphasizing the difference in size.

"More hybrids?" Claire couldn't hide her wince. Hadn't they finally moved on from hybrids?

"Not hybrids. More like… pygmy herbivores," he disagreed.

"Pygmy herbivores?" she repeated, before letting out a chuckle as a thought struck her. "That makes me think of house hippos."

"House what?" he looked confused, his brow furrowed as he leaned forward in his chair, curious. "What are house hippos?"

"It's from an old commercial," she dismissed. "Doesn't matter." She couldn't remember who had shown her the clip first, but she had to admit that even she had wanted a house hippo after seeing it, even if they were completely fake.

"You're the one who keeps saying we need new ideas. That we need to get people interested in the park again," Simon reminded her, settling back in his seat, a frown on his face.

"And we _do_ need new ideas and we do need to do something," Claire agreed. Trying to come up with new ideas was something she'd been trying to work on all year with Zara. Unfortunately, her work with Eli and setting up the research institute had been taking up most of her time. However, now that the opening of the institute was only a few months away, she was looking forward to having some of her schedule freed up. "We want people to _come_ to the park. If they can have a dinosaur at home with them, well, what's the point of coming here? There's a reason zoos aren't full of cats and dogs and goldfish. No one wants to pay to see something they have in their own living room."

"But this wouldn't be the same," he argued. "The ones we'd sell as pets would be different than what we've got here. And it wouldn't be all of them. We wouldn't sell miniature T. rexes, for example. So if they want to see the carnivores or if they want to see them full size they'd still have to come here."

Claire could see the hope in Simon's eyes. She could see how much he really liked the idea he was sharing and she hated having to be the one throwing cold water on it. But, he'd always valued her confidence in telling him the truth and pushing back against his wilder ideas.

"Simon, let me start off by saying that I love visiting the baby dinosaurs. Many of them are adorable and if I was still eight, I'd definitely be all over the idea of having one as a pet. But, I also know the realities of what we go through to keep these dinosaurs alive. I know how much food it takes, and yes, I know miniature ones wouldn't eat as much, but it would still be a lot." She looked at him, watching as his expression started to fall, and she felt bad to be the one dashing his hopes again. "But it's not just that. These dinosaurs are not meant to be kept indoors and they require a tropical climate. Even with all of our experience and knowledge from the past thirty or so years, we continue to struggle with genetic anomalies and viruses that can wipe out an entire species. Look at what happened with the Compys recently."

When she paused for a breath she could see that Simon was about to interrupt her, so she quickly continued. "Even with our partnership to train veterinarians, we still struggle to keep enough qualified vets around to take care of what we have here. A vet used to taking care of people's dogs and cats and the occasional lizard or bird is not going to be prepared for a Triceratops or Gallimimus. While I know it wouldn't be our full responsibility what happens after they left here, it wouldn't feel right to place them into homes knowing they couldn't be properly cared for."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Simon said, his whole body sinking into his chair as he looked completely deflated.

Claire's expression softened as she watched him. She knew it was always important to try to find some nugget in what he was suggesting that they _could_ act on. To not just completely dismiss his ideas.

"I don't think we want to get into the business of selling dinosaurs — miniature or regular. Not only because of the issues I already raised, but because it would also provide access to our technology to our competitors. But maybe there's something else we can look at doing," she said, watching as he perked up at that. "Some other way to allow guests to feel like they can take a piece of the park home with them. Lots of zoos allow you to 'adopt' an animal. Maybe we can come up with something more creative than that. More than just a piece of paper and a stuffed animal."

She could tell that he was thinking through her idea and was weighing it out in his mind. Claire waited, letting him mull it over for a while.

Finally, he spoke up again. "I still like the idea of smaller dinosaurs. I mean, I love that they're huge and I know that their sheer size is part of what makes them so impressive, but there's something about the idea of them being tiny that appeals."

"I like the idea, too," she admitted. "And it's why the petting zoo is always busy."

Even more than ten years later, it still amazed her how small some of the dinosaurs were when they were born versus the size they'd be when fully grown. While guests could see the difference for themselves, she'd admit that it wasn't quite the same as watching them grow before your eyes, week by week and year by year. However, as much as she liked the idea of smaller dinosaurs (the same way most people loved the idea of their dog or cat always remaining a puppy or kitten), she still didn't see how that would fit in at Jurassic World.

The park had always tried to keep science at the core of what they did. And when they'd finally moved more towards science-_fiction_ with their creation of hybrids, well, it hadn't worked well. Claire didn't believe that even cute tiny dinosaurs would somehow fix that trend. With the research institute opening soon, it seemed important that they continued to try to be as accurate as they could be in their creation of dinosaurs. Just because they could make science-fiction become science fact, didn't mean they should.

In the end, the best she could offer up was, "Let me think on this some more. I'm sure we can figure something out."

* * *

_Okay, if you've never heard of house hippos, you're probably not Canadian. It was a commercial that aired in the 90s, with the goal of pointing out that you can't believe what you see on TV. Last year they did an updated version. If you search youtube for "house hippo" and "house hippo 2.0" you should be able to find the original and updated. _

_Even though they're fake, I still want one. :)_

_Also — if you missed it, I added a new "bonus scene" to Swipe Right on Tuesday. So go check that out too for some fluffy goodness (since this chapter didn't really have any). _


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Claire!" Lowery exclaimed, looking surprised to see her when she walked into the control room. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?" Claire asked, instantly worried at his tone. She quickly scanned the monitors as she continued to walk towards him but nothing was looking out of the ordinary. "I always come by around this time. Has something happened?"

"Um," Lowery hesitated, looking over at Vivian like he wasn't sure if he should say something. Claire followed his gaze.

"We thought you'd be over at the med center," Vivian finally said.

"Why would I be there?" Claire asked, her patience starting to run thin as Vivian and Lowery just shared another look. "What don't I know?" she demanded, her gaze darting between the two as her worry built. "Spit it out."

"There was a medevac from Sorna this morning," Lowery finally confessed. "Owen was–"

Claire didn't hear the rest of what Lowery was saying as she'd already spun on her heel and was hurrying towards the elevator. As she rode it back up to the main level, she pulled out her phone. There were no new messages, just as there hadn't been when she'd looked at it on her way down. She called Owen, tapping her foot impatiently as it rang. What had happened? Why hadn't anyone told her? How badly was he hurt?

He didn't pick up. And so she called again. And again.

She hadn't realized she had started shaking until she reached her car and was struggling to slide the key into the ignition. She took a couple of deep breaths, forcing herself to let them out slowly. It wouldn't help if she crashed her car on her way over. It took a couple of minutes before she felt a little steadier and was able to finally slide the key in and turn on the car.

The drive to the med center passed with a blur as she mostly drove on autopilot. After she parked behind it, she practically ripped the keys out in her haste to escape before she tore up the couple of steps to the back entrance and rushed inside.

As she entered, she slowed to a stop, her gaze darting around the hallway. Claire wasn't sure what she had expected to find, but, she realized, it wasn't this. There was the quiet hum the building always seemed to contain, but that was it. It felt too quiet. She realized she had been expecting noise and chaos. That people would be rushing about and shouting for various tools or bandages or something. That there would be some obvious indicator that something was wrong, that someone was injured. She remembered the chaos post the Indoraptors incident, when people had been rushing around, trying to stitch up the few who'd managed to survive their encounter.

A thought struck her and her legs suddenly felt unsteady. What if it was too quiet because Owen wasn't… She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought, worried that even just thinking the words would make them true. After all, it had to be serious if they had sent a helicopter to bring him over.

But… she still didn't understand why no one had contacted her. It wasn't like the fact that they were dating was a secret. Everyone knew. And if Owen was fine, why hadn't _he_ phoned her? She pulled out her phone again, confirming that there were no missed messages from her drive over and that she still had a full signal.

Feeling like her legs might give out, she backed up against the wall and let it support her as she took a few shuddering breaths. She was overreacting, she told herself. He was probably perfectly fine. She just needed to get it together and find someone to ask.

"Ms. Dearing, what are you doing here?"

Claire snapped her head up to see that one of the nurses had entered the hallway and was now looking at her curiously. But before she could say anything, another voice chimed in.

"Oh no, who told you?"

Looking past the nurse Claire saw Owen standing in the hallway.

"Owen," she breathed out. She felt her heart stutter for a moment before racing ahead as her brain tried to catch up with what she was seeing. Even though her legs still felt ready to give out at any moment, she propelled herself forward, passing the nurse and barreling straight into him.

"Oomph," he huffed as he caught her, an arm immediately wrapping around her, keeping them both upright.

"Mr. Grady," the nurse interrupted, her voice stern. "You're injured. I told you to wait for me–"

The nurse's words had Claire springing backwards from Owen, her gaze sweeping over him a couple of times. His hair was tousled and he was still wearing his dark khaki pants. However, he had been stripped down to his undershirt and there was a large bandage covering most of his left forearm. She could see some streaks of blood on his shirt, but she ignored them for now, focusing instead on the fact that he was alive. And that he was standing in front of her.

She reached for him, her hands tentative now, afraid of hurting him, focused on the bandage for a long moment before she looked up and met his gaze. The boost of adrenaline she'd got when she saw him started to fade, and the questions she had temporarily forgotten all sprung forward, tumbling out one after the other. "What happened? Are you okay? Why didn't you call me?"

"I'm _fine_," he said, emphasizing the word. He held his bandaged arm out towards her. "See? Already all stitched up and good to go."

"What happened?" she pressed. "You can't be fine if they sent for a helicopter."

"I _am_ fine," he insisted again. "It's just a scratch. Barely a flesh wound."

"It's _not_ a scratch," the nurse spoke again. "And we still haven't finished checking you over. Mr. Grady, please, can you go back into your exam room now."

Claire could see he was about to protest and so she jumped in. "What one?" she asked the nurse, who pointed to the doorway just behind Owen. "C'mon," Claire said, directing Owen back into his room.

She stopped a couple feet in. She'd been in the various examination rooms before, but they had never looked like this. Normally they were spotless, everything clean, sterile and organized. This time, it was clear that people had been rushing about recently. There was still one of those paper sheets covering the examination table, although it was all wrinkled and there were blood smears on it. On a portable cart, there were tools scattered about and it was covered in empty packages from gauze and bandages and whatever else they'd used to fix Owen up.

Claire swallowed heavily, although she regretted it almost immediately, the scent of disinfectant and blood filling her mouth and nose. She fought back her instinct to gag.

"I'm fine," Owen's voice slowly penetrated the haze that had taken over her mind. "Claire, seriously, I'm fine."

She took another deep breath, closing her eyes briefly before focusing again on Owen who had moved to stand in front of her. He reached up, cupping her cheek with one hand, tilting her head up until her gaze locked with his.

She wanted to believe him. She did. She just didn't trust him to always be the best judge of his own health. His definition of "fine" rarely seemed to line up with hers. And, she really did hate the word fine, her mind always flashing back to the definition in the _The Italian Job_: Fucked up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional.

"I really am fine," he repeated, and she had to suppress her instinct to twitch at the word.

Before she could respond, another voice chimed in: "I think I'll be the judge of that."

Claire and Owen turned together to see that a doctor had joined them in the room.

"Dr. Graham, what happened? Is he okay?" Claire asked.

"Ms. Dearing," Dr. Graham greeted her. "You know I can't discuss other patients' medical records."

"Just tell her I'm fine," Owen pleaded. "She's not listening to me."

"And I can't tell her _that_ until you let me finish my examination," Dr. Graham said, gesturing towards the exam table.

"Fine," Owen grumbled, walking to the table and sitting down on it.

"Ms. Dearing, you need to wait in the waiting room," Dr. Graham added, as he walked over to a side cabinet, hunting around for something. "Mr. Grady can come find you when we finish."

"I–" Claire started to protest, before fumbling. She knew she had no right to be in there, but even though she could see that Owen seemed to be alright (well, at least _alive_), she wasn't quite ready to let him out of her sight.

"Wait," Owen jumped in, seemingly understanding her reluctance to leave. "I want her here." He hopped off the bed, only to let out a groan and a wince at the movement, his good hand reaching back to the table behind him as he used it to steady himself.

"Mr. Grady," Dr. Graham huffed, looking over at him. "Would you just stay still."

Owen let go of the table and took the couple of steps towards Claire, reaching out to grab her hand and then pulling her after him back to the examination table. The doctor looked ready to protest but before he could, Owen countered: "Let her stay and I'll let you do whatever tests you want."

Dr. Graham cocked his head to the side as if debating whether it was worth continuing to argue, before nodding. "Okay. We're almost done as it is. I'm still concerned that you might have a concussion."

"I don't have one," Owen said with a quick shake of his head. Although the immediate grimace followed by his face taking on a slightly green tinge wasn't supporting his claims. "I told you I didn't hit my head," he continued.

"I thought you just said you'd let me do whatever tests I wanted?" Dr. Graham said, coming to stand in front of Owen, a small penlight in his hand.

"Fine," Owen grumbled.

"Owen," Claire warned, her tone soft but stern. She was standing just to the side of him, her hand still tightly gripping his. "Listen to him, please."

"Have at me," Owen said to Dr. Graham, before he turned to look at Claire, a grin emerging: "So, didn't think we'd get a chance to see each other again so soon."

She knew she shouldn't laugh. That there really wasn't anything funny about any of this. He was clearly injured, no matter how many times he was going to tell her he was fine. But she couldn't help herself, the laughter bubbling up and out as she sagged against his side, the final remnants of her panic mostly subsiding. He let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her, pulling her in closely, as he dropped a kiss onto her head.

"Ahem," Dr. Graham interrupted them, and Claire stood back up, pulling away from Owen's side. She felt him reaching for her hand again and she laced her fingers together with his, squeezing it reassuringly, before backing further away. She didn't want to give the doctor any reason to complain.

"Thank you Ms. Dearing," Dr. Graham nodded towards her, before turning back to Owen. "Now, Mr. Grady, I need you to answer some questions. I know you said you didn't hit your head, but when you were brought over someone mentioned that you lost consciousness briefly, is that correct?"

o-o-o

It was another hour before Dr. Graham was finally willing to let Owen leave, which Owen was pretty sure was because the doctor was feeling vindictive. He didn't fully believe that every test the doctor had put him through was entirely necessary, although anytime he'd been about to protest, Dr. Graham had just looked over at Claire and raised an eyebrow. It had been a smart move, Owen had to admit, because even though Claire had relaxed more and more as each test came back negative, he could still see the traces of worry lingering, and he couldn't forget just how shellshocked and relieved she'd looked when she'd first seen him.

Before they left, the nurse had returned with some extra bandages, antibiotic cream and a bottle of pills. As the nurse had explained what to do and what to watch out for, Owen had actually thought that Claire was going to whip out her phone and start taking notes, she was paying such close attention. He knew it was her default course of action, to try to learn everything she could so she could maintain her sense of control, and he'd resisted from reminding her in the moment that she wouldn't need to know all this. That he was going to need to head back to Sorna relatively shortly. (As for himself, he'd mostly dismissed the instructions. He'd had stitches before (more than once, actually) and he knew how to take care of them.)

But, now that he was finally leaving he could tell that he was fading quickly, his adrenaline no longer pumping through his system and keeping him alert and the pain pills making him drowsy. All he wanted to do now was to go home, lie down — preferably with Claire — and sleep.

As they exited the med center out the back, he followed Claire over to her car, before pulling open the passenger door and climbing in. Settling back in the seat, he raised his hand to cover his yawn.

"You still haven't told me what happened," Claire said, turning on the car before backing out of her parking spot. "I mean, I'm assuming it involved a raptor, but…" She left the rest of her statement hanging as she glanced over at him, clearly expecting him to fill in the blanks.

"It was nothing," Owen tried to wave away her concern. "Fern and Pepper were having a fight and when I picked up Fern to pull her away, she got me with her toe claw. She didn't even know she'd done anything. She was just squirming to get put down. It was an accident."

"An accident?" Claire scoffed. "Dr. Graham said he put in over 30 stitches, Owen! That's not something minor. And not just that, they medevaced you here! If it was nothing, surely someone could've taken care of it over on Sorna." As she spoke, her voice got louder and louder, her worry and fear finally being expressed, and Owen winced. He knew she was right, but, well, he'd had more than his fair share of injuries over his lifetime, particularly over the time he'd spent working with his raptors, and this one really _did_ feel pretty minor to him.

"They only did that because I was bleeding and it wouldn't stop," he finally said, looking down at the bandage on his arm. While he couldn't see anything now, he could still picture what it had first looked like, the blood running down his arm and soaking his shirt and Fern squawking because he dropped her. "Zia tried to help, but she didn't feel comfortable sewing me up."

"Of course, she wouldn't," Claire exclaimed, throwing an exasperated look towards him. "She's a vet. She's not supposed to sew up humans."

"So? What's the real difference?" Owen shrugged. He wanted to reach for Claire's hand to reassure her, but it was his left arm that was injured and he was holding it tightly against his chest. While the pain medication had helped, the arm was still throbbing, and the bumps from the road weren't helping.

"Owen…" she drew out his name, before letting out a sigh as she finished.

"Claire…" He mimicked her tone and she immediately shot a glare in his direction and he chose wisely to shut up, getting that she wasn't in the mood for teasing and he stayed quiet for the rest of the short drive to their place.

It wasn't until they were riding the elevator that he dared to speak. "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I should," Claire agreed, nodding curtly, but still not looking at him, and he fell silent again.

He was starting to fidget, growing more uncomfortable every second as she unlocked the door and he trailed after her into their condo. "You don't have to stay," he finally said.

"I–" she started, before huffing and falling silent.

Owen wasn't sure what to make of her silence, but he was also feeling too tired and wiped out to care as much as he knew he should. He brushed past her, heading for the couch, where he half collapsed, half sat down onto it. "I'll be fine. I _am_ fine, you know. You can go back to work." He let his head drop against the back cushion, his eyes falling closed. He could hear Claire moving about.

"Here."

The sound of her voice startled him. He hadn't heard her come near and as he blinked his eyes opened, he wondered if he'd fallen asleep for a minute or two and hadn't realized it. He looked up to see Claire standing in front of him, holding out a glass of water in one hand and a pill in the other.

"They gave me a pain pill already," he told her, confused. He was pretty sure it hadn't been long enough for him to need another yet.

"It's not a pain pill, it's the antibiotic," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "Weren't you paying attention?"

Not wanting to admit that no, he hadn't been, he accepted the pill and placed it on his tongue before reaching for the glass of water and using it to swallow it down. "Thanks."

As she continued to stand in front of him, Owen suddenly clued into the fact that she was fidgeting. Or, well, Claire-style of fidgeting. She was clenching her hands into fists before letting them relax, and she couldn't seem to meet his gaze. He reached around her to put the glass of water onto the coffee table.

"Are _you_ okay?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"I'm…" Claire started, before trailing off and shrugging loosely, finally meeting his gaze. He was surprised how lost she looked.

"Hey, c'mere," he reached for her hand, tugging her down onto the couch beside him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. She buried her face against his chest and he ran his hand up and down her arm soothingly. "I really am fine, you know."

"Would you stop saying that?" she said, suddenly angry, pulling away from him, and he watched her, his eyes wide. "You're not fine. You were… you needed stitches, Owen! A lot of them!" She reached out tentatively towards his bandaged arm, before pulling her hand back and pointing instead. "That's not fine. Not in my book."

"It could've been worse," he said, only to wince as she turned on him, her eyes flashing.

"It could've been worse?" she repeated, her voice filled with disbelief. "As if _that_ makes _this_ better?"

"I work with raptors, Claire. There's always an inherent risk in my job. Stuff happens." Owen shrugged, looking at her apologetically, not really sure how to make any of this better. He tentatively reached for her, but she shifted and he took that as a sign that she wasn't ready. "This isn't even the worst thing I've ever had happen, you know. Charlie took a swipe at me once. And when Delta was little, she managed to bite me. Echo's tripped me more than once and Blue's whacked me with her tail. Fern's still a baby. She's getting used to her body and what she can do. I honestly don't think she meant to get me. She was just kicking her legs. And even if she was? Well, she doesn't get that I'm more fragile than her sisters."

Claire gaped at him for a long moment. "And that's supposed to make it okay? It's not like she's going to get _less_ dangerous as she gets older."

"No, I'm just…" he trailed off, looking around the room briefly before he met her gaze again. "I don't know what you want me to say. We work hard to keep stuff like this from happening, but we can't plan for everything. I wish I could say that it won't happen again, but I don't want to make promises I can't keep. And I can't promise that."

"Sure you can. You don't _have_ to go into the cage," Claire said, her voice matter-of-fact.

"I do, actually," he told her. "If I'm going to be able to train them, if I'm going to be able to get them to trust me, I need to be in there with them while I can. This time is really important. Actually–" He stopped mid-sentence as a thought struck him and he patted his pockets, searching for his phone, although he came up empty. "I need to get a hold of Barry. And I need to get back to Sorna."

"Sorna?! Are you crazy?" He looked up to see that Claire's jaw had dropped open and she was looking at him stunned. "Owen, you were just stitched up. Dr. Graham said you lost a lot of blood. What you need is rest. And plenty of fluids." She reached for the glass of water and handed it back to him, watching intently until he took an obligatory sip.

Still holding the glass, he shifted on the couch until he was facing her and could meet her gaze head on. He then stated firmly: "I need to know what's happening. I need to know how the girls are reacting. And I can't stay away too long. I'll lose all the progress I've made. I need to stick to my training schedule as much as possible."

"You are _not_ going back _today_," she stated equally firmly. "No way, no how. I won't let you."

"No, not today," Owen agreed readily. "But I do need to talk to Barry. In all the hassle, I think I must have left my phone on Sorna."

"That reminds me," Claire said, looking up at the mention of his phone before her gaze darted away again. "Why didn't you call me? Why didn't _someone_ call me?"

"Oh, that," he winced. He knew she wasn't going to like his answer. "Everything happened so fast. I was focused on trying to get it to stop bleeding. I wasn't thinking about anything else."

"But once you got here? Once they started to stitch you up? Or when you were on the helicopter? All of that took time, Owen. Why did I have to find out from Lowery?" He was ready to reply but she continued, her gaze locked on his and a finger pointed at him. "And don't tell me you didn't think about it or didn't have time. I heard what you said at the med center. You stopped someone from contacting me. Why?"

Owen looked away from her, trying to figure out how he could answer that question without making her mad. He'd kind of hoped she hadn't heard his comment earlier, especially when she hadn't said anything about it at the time. Or that she'd forgotten it if she had.

"If it had been me," Claire said, regaining his attention when he didn't reply, "how would you feel if I hadn't told you?"

The thought of her being injured by a dinosaur, or getting into a car accident, or, really, _anything_, made his face pale. He didn't want to imagine any of that, his stomach rolling at just the thought.

"I didn't want to worry you," he finally told her. "I knew you'd panic and there was nothing you could do. I thought it–"

She cut him off. "Of _course_ I'd worry and panic. You were attacked by a _raptor,_ Owen!"

"She didn't attack me," he repeated. "It was an accident."

There was a long pause while Claire just stared at him, like she couldn't believe he was repeating that line to her again. Finally, she sighed before looking down at her hands which he noticed were fidgeting again. "Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you hoping to just disappear back to Sorna before I could find out?"

"I was going to tell you," he said and she looked up at him, her disbelief clear. "I _was_. And I wasn't going to disappear on you. I was just waiting for Dr. Graham to finish up _before_ I told you. I didn't want to interrupt your day. I know how busy you've been lately with the opening getting clos–"

"I don't care how busy I am," she interrupted him. "If you're injured, I want to know about it. I _want_ to be there for you."

"You're right, I should've told you," he said, feeling chagrined. "I'd want to know if things were reversed. I guess I'm still not used to having someone who wants to be there."

"I do." He looked at her confused. "Want to be there," she clarified.

He started to nod just as a yawn escaped him before he could suppress it.

"We don't need to talk about this now. You're injured and you need to rest," Claire said, standing up from the couch. "C'mon. You'll sleep better on the bed."

She gestured for him to stand up, and he half-heartedly tried to move to get up, before just sinking back further into the cushions. He knew she was right, but at the moment, he was mostly just too tired to care. She reached out a hand when he didn't get up, and he let her pull him to his feet.

As he attempted to follow after her, his body felt uncoordinated and his limbs felt extra heavy. It felt like he was trying to walk through swirling chest-deep water, everything pushing him in different directions. Entering their bedroom, he sat down on the edge of the bed, looking down at his shoes. He needed to untie them, he thought, but he couldn't muster the energy to lean over. He focused on his belt, but his fingers weren't obeying his brain. Giving up, he contemplated just going to sleep like that.

"Let me help," Claire told him, coming to stand in front of him.

She quickly unlaced his shoes and pulled them off before undoing his belt. She helped him back to his feet long enough for him to shimmy out of his pants. After he climbed into the bed, he immediately turned onto his side, and pulled the pillow closer. As his head settled, he could feel himself slipping away, but he fought it back.

"Wait," he called out, seeing Claire heading for the door. "Where are you going?"

"I just need to make a couple of calls. I'll be right back," she promised, stepping back towards him, reaching out to run her fingers through his hair. "Sleep."

Owen wanted to protest. He wanted to tug her into the bed with him. He wanted to wrap himself around her. But the feel of her hand in his hair, the comfort of their bed, and just knowing he was home — even if only temporary — did him in. He was asleep before she made it out of the room.

o-o-o

Hoskins groaned as he picked up his ringing phone. Who was calling him now? He was surprised to see Eli's name on the caller ID and he glanced around his office confirming he was alone before answering.

"Hello?" he greeted cautiously, not sure what Eli was going to want now. It felt like Eli was phoning him with increasing frequency and it was starting to get on his nerves. Especially because invariably Eli had some new problem to raise.

"_Oh, good you're there,_" Eli replied in a rush. "_I was talking with my buyer today and we've got a problem._"

"What kind of problem?" Hoskins asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"_He's saying the Compy's hard to control. That they can't get it to listen to them or follow any of their commands._"

Hoskins waited for Eli to say more, but the man remained silent and so finally he said: "Well, yeah, that's not surprising."

"_It isn't?_" Eli's shocked tone had Hoskins not even attempting to hide his scoff at the other man's ignorance.

"There's always a learning curve," Hoskins told him. While he still didn't agree with all the choices that Owen made with his training, and he still thought that James had been able to make more progress in less time, he couldn't completely disregard Owen's results. "Hell, Owen works with the raptors day in and day out and it still took him about six months before he had his first real breakthrough. Trust me, I remember because I was starting to lose all hope in the project. We were actually discussing whether it was going to be worth it to continue."

"_Six months?! There's no way the buyer is going to be okay with hearing it'll take _six _months!_"

Hoskins thought he could hear Eli gasping, like the other man was on the edge of a panic attack or something. "Surely if the guy can afford to buy a dinosaur, he can afford to invest in a good trainer — who should be saying all of this to him." Hoskins picked up a pen and started doodling absently on a piece of paper, only half paying attention to Eli.

"_Maybe he is, I don't know. But it doesn't change the fact that he's on _my _case about all of this. I need something to tell him, and it can't be that he just needs to wait six months._"

Hoskins wanted to ask Eli how any of this was his problem. He'd done his part — getting the Compy off island and to the buyer. And what did Eli really think Hoskins was going to be able to do? It's not like he could just snap his fingers and the dinosaur would be trained.

"They don't all respond the same way, I know that much," Hoskins informed him. "Take the new batch of raptors we've got here now. I know it's still early, it hasn't even been two months, but they aren't acting the same. They don't seem to have the same bond the others did with Owen and Barry. I'm not sure if it's just their personalities or something about their genetic makeup… I mean, even with the others, Owen has always gone on and on about how important Blue is to his success and that he wouldn't be able to do what he does without her."

"_Blue?_" Eli echoed, clearly confused.

"One of the other raptors. He's always talking about her ability to empathize." Hoskins rolled his eyes at his own words. He could still remember the feeling of Delta's teeth sinking into his calf muscle. Just the thought made his leg ache and he bent over so he could massage it. "Says she's the leader. The one who keeps the others in line. I haven't heard him talk that way about any of the new batch."

"_Hmm,_" Eli hummed. "_I didn't know that. Interesting._"

"Owen likes to tell me you get out what you put in," Hoskins replied after a brief pause. "I think that's mostly BS, but you can tell your buyer that."

There was a longer pause, then, and Hoskins wasn't sure what Eli was going to say, but he really didn't have any more advice for the guy. There was a reason that Hoskins had hired Owen and Barry and James. It was his opinion that it was better to hire the best people you can for the job and then push them to be even better.

"_Did I tell you he complained about the size?_" Eli finally spoke up again and Hoskins's brow furrowed, the question feeling like it came out of left field.

"The size?"

"_Yeah,_" Eli let out a bit of a laugh. "_He asked what's the use of a dinosaur that's the size of a soccer ball. Said that there's nothing remotely threatening about something you could probably kill with a solid kick._"

"Obviously that guy's never gone into the cage," Hoskins said. "Those things have a hell of a bite. They may be small, but they're fast. And they usually travel in packs."

"_Yeah, I mentioned the bite,_" Eli agreed. "_And I reminded him that he only had one. He once again asked about when I could get him more_."

Hoskins perked up. "What did you say?"

They'd agreed to move forward on setting up the Lockwood Estate as a new lab. In doing so, they'd also agreed to pretty much give up on trying to move any more dinosaurs off island; that it wasn't worth the hassle. He knew that Eli had been working on the lab, but they hadn't actually had much discussion as to what Eli would say to potential buyers who would be wanting to move forward _now_ and not in a few months to a year.

"_I mentioned that we had a new plan in the works that would allow us a lot more flexibility in what we can offer and that would actually speed up our timeline from ordering to delivery. That definitely piqued his interest. And when I mentioned that we'd be able to offer more custom solutions too, well…_"

"Custom solutions? You're thinking of selling hybrids?" Hoskins asked, his brow furrowed. He couldn't remember being involved in a discussion with Eli or Henry about hybrids.

While Hoskins knew that Henry wanted to get back to doing more customizing — or at least tweaking of the genes versus just reproducing more of the same — after the Indoraptors, Hoskins himself had to admit that he no longer felt completely okay with the idea of hybrids. He wanted to, though. While he still thought there was a lot of potential for the raptors to be used by the military, they weren't, by any means, perfect. While the raptors were highly intelligent and continued to show impressive problem-solving abilities, they lacked thumbs. Without them, they were limited in their ability to manipulate objects, and they couldn't pick up most things. He was pretty sure the military would be knocking down InGen's door to sign a contract if they created a raptor that could do that.

"_Possibly,_" Eli said. "_But, it sort of depends on what we classify as hybrids. I mean, based on talking with Henry, technically everything he's created is one. I'm not sure we want to go as far as the Indoraptors. Not initially, anyway. We've got to save some of our ideas or 'features' to entice buyers back. But, Henry and I were thinking we could start with smaller tweaks. Like accelerated growth rate. Or colours. Or size. Henry has assured me that those should all be possible_."

"Right, those are all things he does now," Hoskins said. "There's nothing new there."

"_But our buyers don't know that_," Eli agreed with glee. "_And selling is often about the illusion you create and not the actual reality that exists_."

"While it's great that you've got a plan on how to sell," Hoskins said, "we won't have anything _to_ sell if we don't get that lab up and running. What's the status of that project? Are you getting any pushback from Lockwood?"

"_He's too sick these days to pay much attention to anything outside of his granddaughter and the research institute. It's actually Maisie and Iris that are potentially more of a concern. I can't hide everything from them. But, they don't go down into the basement — it's off limits for them — and so far I've been able to brush them off with comments about cleaning it out and getting organized for the next project for the foundation._" Eli let out a little chuckle. "_It's actually amazing how easily people will trust what you say even when it counters what they see_."

"Everyone just wants to be right," Hoskins agreed. "And they'd prefer to accept lies that let them think they are, than grapple with the truth."

"_Right. On that note though, a truth we _do _need to deal with, is how we're going to actually get any of the embryos and such off the island. It doesn't sound like they're less tracked than the eggs or dinosaurs. And it's not like we can fake deaths for vials._"

"I've actually been thinking about that," Hoskins admitted, sitting up straighter in his chair. This was a topic he'd enjoyed working through. "And the big thing I keep coming back to, is that we only need to do this — and be successful — once. It's not like our previous plan, where we needed something that would work repeatedly. Instead, we just need to get our samples, and then we're set. Henry can move forward from there."

"_Okay. So what are you thinking?_"

"Well, the other big thing is that we don't want anyone to suspect any of us are involved. I mean, you're in the clear, but both Henry and I have access to Sorna. If stuff goes missing, everyone's going to be a suspect. They're going to scrutinize everyone and everything that has happened here."

"_But as long as they don't find anything on you guys, it'll be fine,_" Eli said.

"Sure, but I don't think we want them looking too hard anyway," Hoskins replied, picking up his pen again and fiddling with it. "While I don't think they can find anything, it wouldn't be good if they found out that Henry fudged the numbers about the Apatosauruses or figured out the inconsistencies in the Compy numbers."

"_So, how do you think we get around that? I mean, like you said, you both are on the island._"

"The solution, I've decided, is that we get someone _else_ to steal it. And, we make sure we all have strong alibis when it happens."

"_You want to get _more _people involved?_" Eli asked. "_I thought we agreed that more people was not a good idea._"

"We don't need a lot of people," Hoskins said, leaning back in his chair and turning slightly, so he could look out the one small window his office had. "It's not like we're asking them to steal any of the dinosaurs, although… Well, we can come back to that. We just need a crew to arrive with a boat, steal what we want, and then get away before any help can arrive. Even though the crew on the island has grown, it's still, overall, pretty small. And there's still nowhere near the security level here as there is on Nublar."

"_Do you think we could steal some of the dinosaurs?_" Eli asked, latching onto Hoskins' comment and sounding intrigued. "_I mean, that would be a boost as we'd have some we could sell right away. What about that new batch of raptors? They're still young, but they would have some training. Or… what was the raptor you mentioned? The one Owen said is important?_"

"Blue. I don't know if we want to try to get her. She's fully grown, so it would be a bigger job. But, yeah, maybe the new batch. Actually…" Hoskins trailed off, tilting his head to the side for a moment in thought. "Actually, it might be a good idea to try to take some of them. A… distraction, if you will. We could probably make a mess of the lab so it's less clear if samples were taken or if they were just destroyed."

There was a pause on the line as Eli considered the idea.

"_What do you think the timeline is for this? I mean, this sounds even more complicated than what we were thinking before. How soon do you think we can do this? The lab will be ready in a few weeks._"

"Which actually works out perfectly, as I think we'll have the perfect opportunity coming up next month…"

* * *

_I love Hoskins and Eli scheming. I will forever say that I think they're kind of "fun" bad guys to have, and it's too bad neither of them survived to be in a sequel. _

_Hope everyone is managing to stay healthy and that you're practising social distancing and following all the advice out there. All of this is pretty scary stuff, but the actions we all take individually will determine if we're part of the solution or if we make it all worse. So *do your part* because I *do* want JW3 to eventually get made. _

_In the meantime, I hope these chapters each week help brighten your day a bit. Thank you to those who favourite, follow, and most of all write a comment, because those are what brighten my day._


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

"Are you sure I have to wear this?" Owen asked, turning away from the mirror where he had just finished putting on his tie. He yanked at it uncomfortably. He was having flashbacks to the Navy dress uniform he'd had to wear on occasion. Suits really weren't his thing.

He was back on Nublar for the grand opening of the research institute, which had officially happened earlier that day. He hadn't realized when Claire had asked him to attend the event with her that it wasn't _an_ event, but a whole day of non-stop events. While he'd been hoping for some one-on-one time with her, right now, getting ready for the evening gala, was the closest they'd come to it.

"Yes," Claire replied with a roll of her eyes as she stepped up close to him. She reached out and carefully straightened his tie, before her hands brushed across his shoulders and down his arms, coming to a rest lightly gripping his forearms. He couldn't help his wince. While his stitches had been removed almost two weeks ago, his forearm still felt a bit tender and bruised, and he still found himself babying it. Claire immediately made to step back, but he quickly reached for her, his hands lightly grasping her waist and pulling her closer.

"You know, we _could_ just stay in," he whispered, using the opportunity to lean down and place a kiss just behind her ear, before trailing more kisses down her neck. His smile grew when she tilted her head slightly to give him more access.

"You wish," she finally let out on a sigh, stepping back and pushing gently against his chest until he straightened up.

"I do," he agreed, grinning at her when she rolled her eyes again.

She looked away briefly, and he was about to ask her if something was wrong when she looked back, her gaze serious. "Thanks for being here. I've… I've never really had anyone here for things like this. Or, I guess, I've never really had anyone I _wanted_ to be here. So… thanks."

Owen was momentarily speechless, and in the moment it took him to find his voice, her gaze darted away from his, and one of her hands started playing with his tie in a clear signal of her nerves. "Nowhere else I'd rather be," he finally said. When she looked up at him, an eyebrow raised in disbelief, he amended. "I mean, sure, I'm not a big fan of wearing a suit and stuffy parties and I wish we could just stay home," he winced as amusement spread across her face, "but, being by your side is where I want to be."

"Nice save," she chuckled, flattening out his tie before stepping back, evading his grasp as he tried to hold on. "We need to get going or we'll be late."

"You're the star of the show," he disagreed. "Therefore it's impossible for you to be late."

"I'm not, actually. But I do need to be there. And you coming is going to make the night a little less unbearable," she replied as she walked over to their bed to grab her phone where she'd tossed it earlier. Turning back to him, she eyed him, and Owen started to feel a bit nervous. "You've got pockets, right?" she asked, walking back towards him.

"I do," he agreed, shoving his hands into them.

"Perfect." Claire smiled and then held out her phone. "Can you hold this? Then I don't have to take a purse."

He accepted the phone and slipped it into his pocket. "So, this is why you really wanted me to come," he joked as he followed her out of the bedroom and towards the door.

"Partly," she agreed with a laugh as they left the condo. "Here, you can hold the keys too," she handed over her keyring.

"Does this mean I get to drive?" Owen asked, as they waited for the elevator. They'd been together for almost a year now, the anniversary was barely two weeks away, and he'd only driven her car a couple of times before. Of course, there hadn't been very many times that either of them had driven together, really. When they were together it wasn't usually needed for whatever they were doing.

"Sure," she said.

"Nice." Owen tossed the keys into the air before catching them. "I love driving it."

"Why haven't you said something before?" Claire asked as they rode the elevator down. "I wouldn't stop you from taking it out."

"Never really thought about it," he admitted as they exited the hotel and walked over to her vehicle. "And I love my motorcycle, and it's nice to take it out when I'm here. But, can't really take that tonight."

"Yeah, not with these outfits," she agreed as she got into the car. "But, think of getting to drive tonight as a bonus for dressing up."

"Not as big a bonus as getting to see you all dressed up," he said, giving her a suggestive up and down look when she glanced over at him, before he broke into a laugh.

She reached across the console and patted his thigh. "Keep those thoughts for later."

Owen just grinned in response.

o-o-o

"It's really a shame that Mr. Lockwood wasn't well enough to come," Claire said to Eli as they stood by one of the small bar-height tables that were sprinkled around the room.

"I know he really wanted to be here," Eli said. "But he came down with a cold and his doctors didn't think it was wise for him to travel."

"Well, be sure to tell him that we missed him and hope that he gets better soon," she replied as she picked up her wine glass and took a sip before setting it back onto the table.

"I will," he agreed. He looked around the room which was swarming with people in suits and fancy dresses, intermixed with servers carrying trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres. "I'm really impressed with everything you've been able to pull together for this."

"Oh, I don't deserve the praise for that," Claire laughed. "We have an excellent committee on the island that does all the arrangements for events like this. Most of what they get to do are small weddings, so I know they actually find events like these a bit of a breath of fresh air."

"You call this a breath of fresh air?" Owen scoffed, his arm slipping possessively around her waist as he rejoined her side. "A stuffy gathering like this? At least weddings are fun."

"Hey!" Claire smacked him lightly on the chest, before turning back to Eli. "Please excuse him. I had to drag him here tonight. Eli, this is Owen. Owen, Eli — he runs Mr. Lockwood's foundation."

"Oh, sorry," Owen said, holding out his hand for Eli to shake. Claire could tell from the slight shifting of his posture that he was a little embarrassed over his comments now. Not that he would show that overtly, she knew. He was good at letting stuff roll off. "Not really my kind of pastime," he said. "But, I do have to say, what Claire's told me about the research institute has me impressed. I'm for anything that looks at these dinosaurs as actual beings and not just dollar signs."

Claire barely resisted the urge to slap him again, instead taking another sip of her wine as she willed herself not to react.

"Do you work here?" Eli asked.

"Yeah, well, sort of," Owen said, nodding. "I don't work for Jurassic World. I work for InGen."

Eli's face lit up with curiosity. "Oh, are you a scientist?"

Claire wasn't sure what it was about Eli's expression as he asked, but she was suddenly flashing back to seeing him talking with Hoskins. Did he know what Hoskins did? If he did, he'd almost definitely have heard Owen's name before. Although, she supposed it was possible that Hoskins didn't name him or had referred to him as Mr. Grady.

"Scientist? No," Owen shook his head, laughing a little. "Not the lab geek kind, anyway. I'm an animal behaviourist."

As Owen spoke, Claire watched Eli's reaction, but the man's expression gave nothing away. Instead, he just seemed interested in hearing what Owen had to say, immediately ready with his next question: "Oh, what animals do you work with?"

Before Owen responded, he looked over at Claire, giving her a slight head tilt in question and she knew he was wondering if he should or _could_ share his job details with Eli. However, before she could answer, she heard someone calling out her name.

"Claire! Claire!"

The three of them at the table turned (as did a number of the guests in attendance) to see who was responsible for the commotion. Claire's brow furrowed when she realized it was Lowery pushing his way through the crowd. She was pretty sure he wasn't on the invite list for tonight's event, a thought that was confirmed when she realized he was wearing a pair of converse, jeans and a t-shirt with a button-up shirt hanging open overtop. He skidded to a stop in front of her, bending over and gasping lightly, raising a finger — a silent request for a moment.

Looking behind him, Claire saw one of the security guards from the door had been following after Lowery, and she gave a quick shake of her head, dismissing him. The guard hesitated for a moment, and then retreated back to his spot.

"What's wrong?" she demanded when Lowery straightened back up, grabbing his arm and pulling him with her over to the side of the room, away from the attention. "What happened? Why didn't you call me?"

"I _tried_," Lowery insisted. "I phoned you multiple times, you didn't answer."

She patted her sides briefly before remembering she'd given Owen her phone to hold onto. Claire turned to look back towards her table only to realize that Owen and Eli had followed after her. Owen was now sheepishly holding out her phone, where she could see a string of notifications about missed calls.

She opened her mouth to say something about it, before snapping it shut and turning back to Lowery and demanding again: "What happened?"

"Something's going on on Sorna," Lowery said.

"What do you mean _something's going on on Sorna_?" This time it was Owen who spoke, his voice low as he took a step towards Lowery, who hurriedly stepped back, his gaze darting to Claire's.

"Owen," she admonished, reaching for his arm and tugging him back.

"I'm not sure, exactly," Lowery admitted, his expression a little frantic. "But we got a distress call from security, and when we responded, we couldn't get a hold of them. We're still trying to figure out what's going on."

"What have you figured out so far?" Claire asked, her own voice low, trying to keep her body language relaxed. She knew that many of the guests would be watching and she didn't want people to be concerned.

"Not a lot," he admitted. "We're not able to see much on the cameras. The main area looks empty, but we have limited feeds. And we don't have any from inside the buildings, so we don't know what could be happening there."

"What about the raptors?" Owen hissed. "Are they still in their paddock?"

"From what we can tell, yes," Lowery said. "But, like I said, we can't tell much."

"Anything unusual?" Claire asked.

"Well, there's a ship at the dock," Lowery said slowly. "But except for the boat that goes between Sorna and Nublar, I don't know much about what ships _should_ be there or not."

"Do you know anything about that?" Claire turned to Owen, who immediately shook his head.

"But," he added, "I wouldn't, necessarily. I don't know what goes on with all the lab stuff."

"What's going on?" A new voice joined the mix and Claire wasn't surprised to see Simon had come over. Over his shoulder she could see Hoskins was also headed in their direction.

"We think something might be happening on Sorna," Claire told him, waving at Hoskins to hurry up. She'd never thought she'd actually _want_ to be talking to the guy. But, out of everyone there, he was probably their best source for what would or would not be normal for Sorna.

"What's up?" Hoskins asked when he joined the group, his voice booming.

"Shhh," Claire said quickly, looking past him. There were still people looking in their direction, but most had finally gone back to mingling. "Do you know if there's supposed to be a ship docked at Sorna tonight?"

"No, not that I know of," Hoskins said after a brief pause, his smile slipping, a frown creeping onto his face. His gaze darted between Claire and Lowery. "What's going on?"

"Lowery said they sent a distress call and haven't been responding–"

"I need to get back there," Owen interrupted. "If something's going on… I need to be there."

"Me too," Hoskins insisted. He turned to Owen. "We'll take the helicopter. Let's go."

"I'm coming with you," Claire said, before they could even take a step away.

"You?" Hoskins gave her a once over. "In _that_?"

"I've got a change of clothes in my car," she said. "It'll take me two minutes to change."

"Claire…" Owen's quiet plea had her looking over at him. "We don't know what's going on. It could be dangerous. I think you should stay here."

"I'm coming," she replied firmly in a tone that didn't invite an argument. "If it's safe enough for you, it's safe enough for me."

"That's not–" Owen started, but he cut himself off as she glared at him, her gaze darting pointedly down to his arm, before holding his hands up in surrender.

Claire turned back to Simon who had been quiet. "Simon, I've–"

"No problem," Simon interrupted, reassuring her, though he looked rather concerned. "Go. Let me know what's going on. Lowery, you'll be in the control room?"

"I will," Lowery agreed as he pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose.

"Good, stay in contact," Simon said. Claire was fidgeting as he turned back to her. "Go. Go on. I can manage here. And I've got Eli. We'll be fine."

Right, Eli. She had forgotten that he had been standing there silently during all of this. Part of her wondered what he was thinking, but she also knew she didn't have time to think about that now. Instead, she quickly said "Thanks" to Simon, before turning and following after the others who had already started out of the room, catching curious looks as their group cut through the crowd.

o-o-o

For the first time in his life, Owen kind of wished he'd gone into the Air Force instead of the Navy. Maybe if he had, he'd know how to fly a helicopter and would be able to get them there faster. As it was, he still had to restrain himself from leaping forward and grabbing at the controls. Why was it taking so long?

He could feel Claire's hand resting on his thigh, but tonight it wasn't giving him any comfort. He was too caught up in all the what if's that were flashing through his mind one after the other. Why hadn't Barry answered his call? Or Zia? Were his girls okay? What if they had gotten out?

Owen could feel his knee starting to bounce, and he rested his fist on it, pushing down. He didn't like feeling so out of control. Why couldn't they just _get_ there?

"I can see the boat at the dock," the pilot's voice came through his headset, and Owen's gaze shot forward. While he'd been staring steadily out his window, he couldn't see the dock from his position.

"What's going on? Can you see anyone?" Owen demanded.

"There looks to be some trucks parked down at the docks," the pilot shared. "And I can see some people moving about."

"We've been spotted," Commander Austin who was sitting in the co-pilot chair chimed in. "They all look like they're looking up now."

"Do they look like employees?" Claire asked, concern creeping into her voice. She tried to look down as well, but Owen knew that she couldn't see much of anything either.

"I don't think so. They all look to be wearing all black," Austin replied. "They've started moving again. I think we've spooked them. They're rushing about. It's not easy to make out what's going on, what with the sun setting behind them."

Owen could feel his stomach twisting, as he squirmed in his seat, trying desperately to see _something_, but he was on the wrong side of the helicopter. As worried as he'd been on the flight over, he'd always held out some hope that they were overreacting. Based on Austin and the pilot's comments, he was now wondering if they were underreacting. Why had he let Claire come?

"Give me a second and I'll swing around a bit so we can all get a better look," the pilot said. "We need to decide if we can land."

"_We still can't get a hold of anyone,_" Lowery's voice came through their headsets. "_We've been trying both the radios and also all the phones we know._"

Owen had his face practically plastered to the window now, a feeling that reminded him of when he was five years old and took his first plane trip. But this time, he wasn't filled with awe over the fact he was looking down at clouds and the way the farmer's fields looked like a checkerboard. Instead, he was desperately waiting for the island to come into view.

It took half a minute, but then the helicopter veered to the right and started to swing in a wide circle over the encampment. Owen focused on the docks first. Austin was right, people seemed to be in a big hurry now.

"I definitely don't think they're our guys," he said, his frown deepening. "In fact, I think they're getting ready to hightail it out of there."

"_Should we inform the coast guard?_" Lowery asked. "_I mean, it's going to take them a while to get there, but…_"

"Yes!" Owen and Claire immediately exclaimed in unison.

"Austin, what about the ACU?" Owen asked. "Should Lowery send more?"

"We're not equipped for situations like this," Austin admitted, sounding a little sheepish. Owen barely resisted the urge to swear. "I imagine we'll be having a meeting about this all once it's over," Austin continued. "But we've always built up our capabilities around having to protect and secure a single island. We've got some small boats, but nothing that makes sense to send here, and they couldn't get here fast, anyway."

Surprised, Owen turned and looked at Claire. He knew that Austin wouldn't be lying, but it still felt incredulous. Claire simply nodded her agreement with Austin's assessment. Owen looked back out the window, focusing again on the docks. There was already a reduction in activity, as most of the people who had been running around were now on the boat. He realized that he didn't actually have any idea how many people had been down there originally, which meant he couldn't know how many may be lying in wait. Scanning the area out from the dock, he could see a couple of the larger ATVs they had on the island parked nearby, but that wasn't necessarily out of the ordinary, as they were mainly used for moving supplies between the buildings and the docks.

As his gaze drifted farther from the docks, he focused on the raptor paddock. In the dimming light as the sun was sinking quickly below the horizon, he could make out the walls of the paddock but he couldn't clearly see within. And, with all the forest cover he knew there was a more than good chance that he'd never catch a glimpse of the raptors if they didn't want to be seen. Although, he'd kind of hoped they'd be visible and staring up at the helicopter as they had taken to doing. Thankfully, at least the paddock gates appeared to still be closed.

"The boat's pulling away," Claire spoke up again.

"Should I land?" the pilot asked.

"Yes!" Owen said emphatically. "We need to get down there to figure out what's going on. If the boat's leaving, they must be all gone. It'd be stupid of them to leave any of their men behind."

"Let's do another circle first," Austin spoke up, his command overriding Owen's. "I want to be sure there's nothing unexpected before we land."

"Lowery, anything yet?" Claire asked.

"_Nope, still nothing,_" Lowery said immediately. "_The Coast Guard is on their way, although they're not thrilled about it. I told them they didn't necessarily need to go to Sorna, but that we needed help intercepting the boat. Any chance you picked up the name? Telling them to intercept a boat isn't really all that helpful._"

Owen tuned out the discussion between Lowery and Austin as Austin detailed the information he'd gathered about the vessel.

"Should we follow the ship?" Hoskins suddenly asked. "Instead of landing, wouldn't that be more useful?"

Owen was torn. Part of him knew that Hoskins's suggestion was probably a good one. Whatever these guys had done on the island, unless they intercepted the boat, they were probably going to get away with it. He knew it was unlikely the coast guard was going to be able to intercept the boat before it could disappear from sight.

Before anyone could answer Hoskins, Claire spoke up again. "If all the guys have left, why aren't any of our people answering the phones yet? Or the radios? I think we need to get down there. While I don't want them to get away, I'm more concerned about everyone's safety."

No one said anything for a moment, but Owen knew she had a point. "She's right. We need to get down there. And I don't think we should wait. We don't know why people aren't responding. But there should be something like 25-30 people there right now. Something's wrong."

"I agree," Austin said, before turning to look at the pilot. "Take us down." As the pilot started to redirect the helicopter towards the landing area, Austin spoke up again. "While I haven't seen any evidence of any loose dinosaurs, or that the perimeter fence has been breached, we are still going in somewhat blind. So, that said, I'm in command here, and you are all to follow my lead."

"The paddock doors are still closed," Owen pointed out. "I haven't been able to see the raptors, but I don't think they're out. And the younger batch haven't been moved to an outdoor paddock, so they should still be in the nursery."

The nursery was one of the newer buildings that had been erected when it had become clear that they were going to be increasing the population on Sorna and needed more space to deal with the baby dinosaurs before they could place them in the outer paddocks. There was also a new building behind the two housing units that housed a couple of lounges and a small gym.

"I can keep the helicopter running," the pilot suggested. "Until we know for sure, in case we need to make a fast getaway."

"Sure," Austin agreed. He turned in his seat looking towards the rest. "When we land, my team will get off first. The three of you–" he looked specifically at Claire, Owen and Hoskins "–wait for my go ahead before you get off."

Owent wanted to protest. It was not like he didn't know how to handle himself if things went wrong. But before he could open his mouth, he suddenly felt Claire's hand clutching at his. He looked over at her, but she wasn't looking at him, instead focusing on Austin and nodding her agreement to his direction. Owen turned his hand over so he could lace their fingers together and gave it a squeeze.

At that, Claire finally turned to him, and he held her gaze. He opened his mouth to say something but stopped, realizing that whatever he'd say would be transmitted to everyone on the helicopter as well as Lowery back at control. He paused, then chose to mouth the words instead. "It'll be fine. I promise. I love you."

She squeezed his hand back before responding: "I love you, too."

o-o-o

Stepping out of the helicopter, Claire decided that for once, she didn't care what people would think. Ever since they had started their descent, she'd been clutching at Owen's hand, and she wasn't willing to let go yet. They had sat in the helicopter for five minutes after landing while Austin and his team had spread out and done a quick recon of the immediate area.

"Where to first?" she asked. She wished she could whisper — it felt like she should be whispering — but with the helicopter blades still whirling above, it was hard enough to hear each other even as she shouted. "Are we splitting up?"

"That's the only building with lights on," Austin pointed to the center building which housed the cafeteria. "We'll take a look there as a group. As it'll soon be dark, I don't want any of us wandering around alone until we've checked out the whole area. Let's find out what's happened so we can do that."

They had barely started forward when Claire felt Owen pause beside her. She looked over at him, but he had turned and was looking in the direction of the raptor paddock.

"What is it?" she asked, following his gaze but not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"I don't know," he replied after a moment without turning to her. "I thought I heard something. But, it's hard to tell with the noise of the helicopter."

She thought he was going to maybe head in that direction anyway, and while she wasn't keen on having any of them running around the area on their own, she wasn't sure she'd even try to stop him if he did. But, Owen turned back towards the building and started after the others, his hand still clasped around hers.

As they walked, Claire watched as Austin sent two men ahead to circle the building. When they reached the front doors, Austin held up a hand asking everyone to wait. "Just in case," he told them.

"What do you think they could've done?" Hoskins groaned, moving forward, clearly intent on opening the doors himself.

Austin shifted until he was in front of the doors, blocking Hoskins's path. "I'm in charge until we know the area is safe," he reminded Hoskins. "It won't take them long."

He was right. It was barely a minute later before the two men reappeared, having completed their circuit.

"From what we can tell the kitchen and one of the dining areas looks empty. The other one had the lights off, so it was hard to see, but we shone a light in and there's a bunch of people in there," one of the men quickly reported.

"Are they okay?" Claire asked.

"We think so," the man said, a bit haltingly, like he wasn't quite sure he believed what he was saying. "We knocked on the window. It looks like they're maybe wearing blindfolds and probably have their hands tied, or something. While some reacted to our knock, no one got up or seemed to know where to look."

"Blindfolds?" Owen asked. "Why blindfolds?"

"Maybe whoever was here didn't want to be seen," another ACU member spoke up, giving a shrug when they all turned to look at him. "Would make it harder for us to identify them."

"Can we go in now?" Hoskins demanded. "It doesn't make any sense for us to stand out here wondering when we can go in and ask."

Claire found herself, for probably the first time in her life, agreeing with Hoskins. This was feeling too slow. They needed to get in there. She understood being cautious, but they needed answers.

"Stay behind my men," Austin warned them again, before turning to the door. Opening it, Austin entered the building, most of his men trailing in after him. One held the door open, and brought up the rear behind Claire and Owen.

Austin followed the lead of the two men who'd done the recognizance, who headed straight for the room they'd seen the people in. The door was shut. Reaching it, Austin and his men carefully examined the frame, before knocking on the door. They could hear some muffled noise from within, but the door remained closed. For a moment, Claire thought they were going to end up standing around debating what to do, but Austin simply reached out and opened the door himself. He entered the room first, finding the lightswitch and flooding the room with light.

Now that the door was open, Claire could tell the room had a bunch of people in it. The muffled sound they had heard had actually stopped when they'd opened the door. Claire wanted to push forward, to get into the room faster, but she had to wait for those ahead of her. Before she could even make it to the door, the silence was broken by voices.

"Matt, what happened?" Austin was asking.

"They caught us totally off guard. We were unprepared," Matt replied. Claire couldn't see him yet, but she focused on his voice. "When we saw the boat arriving, I sent a couple men down to the dock to see what was happening. But the crew on the boats already had guns out. We tried to counter, but one of them didn't even hesitate. He shot at Cody. Nicked him in the arm."

"I'm fine," another voice chimed in. "I mean, it _hurts_, but I'll live."

Claire was finally able to make it into the room. The noise volume was steadily increasing as everyone seemed to realize that they were being rescued and it wasn't that their captors had returned. As she entered the room, Austin was still talking to Matt, but the other ACU men had fanned out around the room, making their way from person to person, helping remove blindfolds and untying their hands.

She turned back to Austin, listening as Matt continued his summary of the events.

"–was watching from the security room. I immediately sent the distress call, but they must have sent some guys ahead, because I'd barely managed to do that before the door opened and one of them was standing behind me with a gun." Matt looked annoyed, shaking his head like he still couldn't believe they'd managed to surprise him. "They rounded us all up, made us put on blindfolds and then tied us up, and we've been stuck here since. To be honest, I'm not even sure how much time has passed."

As Matt and Austin continued to talk, Claire went back to scanning over the room, trying to figure out what her next action should be. She spotted Henry, who looked pissed off, but fine, with some of the other lab scientists. The ACU who had been stationed on the island had all congregated around Matt and Austin, and one of the new arrivals had pulled out a first aid kit and was looking at Cody's arm. And then, as she was watching everyone, she started wondering if everyone was accounted for. It was hard to get an accurate count, as now that people were freed up, they were all moving about.

She turned to ask Owen that question, only to realize he was no longer beside her. Claire hadn't even realized she'd let go of his hand. Continuing her scan, she found him over with Barry and Zia, who both looked none the worse off, the three off to the side. Her impulse was to go and join them, but she knew she needed to focus on her job first.

Claire moved closer to Austin, interrupting his conversation with Matt. "We need a headcount. Are we sure that everyone's here?"

"Right," Austin nodded, turning back to Matt. "Matt, do you have a list of who should be here?"

"I do, but it's back in the security office. Did you guys clear the rest of the area yet?"

"Not yet," Austin shook his head. "The boat left as we arrived, and so we were focused on finding all of you. We've just done a very preliminary look." He looked around for a moment, before finding a chair and pulling it out. Stepping up onto it, he used two fingers to whistle loudly. The room fell silent, everyone turning to look at him. "I know you're probably all eager to be let out of here," he said loudly, addressing the room, "but before we do, I still want my team to do a quick check of the rest of the area. We did see a ship leave as we arrived, so while I do not expect we'll encounter anyone, we still don't know what they were doing here and if they took anything."

"I need to get to the nursery," Zia spoke up the moment Austin paused for a breath.

"I need to get back to my lab. I had experiments running," Henry followed up. "All this time sitting here is going to have thrown a bunch of them off." The scientists around him all nodded their agreement.

"Don't forget about my girls," Owen added. "We need to confirm that they're still in their paddock."

At that, everyone started talking again, some insisting on needing to check on various areas, and others concerned that the raptors were loose, _again_. Claire was impressed when Austin almost immediately whistled again, taking back control.

"We'll get to all of that, but first up…"

o-o-o

Owen was pissed off that Austin was insisting that he couldn't leave the building yet. He wouldn't even be listening, but Claire was standing right beside him, as if she _knew_ that he was about to take off. Which, to be fair, was the only reason he hadn't, yet. That, and the fact he could still see Austin, who was currently walking across the yard towards the waiting helicopter.

Four other ACU guys had also been allowed to leave, in pairs. Two had been sent over to the security room to track down the list of current on-island personnel, while the other two were going to do a quick walkthrough of the other buildings.

And in the meantime, Owen was stuck inside, waiting. He felt useless. He _hated_ feeling useless. He turned to Barry, trying to distract himself. "What do you think the guys wanted?"

"There's only one thing of value on this island," Zia answered before Barry could. He, Barry and Claire all turned to look at her. "The dinosaurs." Zia wasn't looking at them, her gaze also locked out the front windows towards the raptor paddock. The sun had since set, and in the dying light, it was starting to get harder to even see it clearly. The helicopter was also blocking most of their view. "Think about it. Almost everything anyone could want is _right here_. Embryos? We've got it. Eggs? Baby dinosaurs? Both of those too."

"And less security," Claire said slowly, nodding in agreement. "Which was not at all helped by our response time." She shook her head, before pulling out her phone, where Owen knew she had been jotting down notes and questions. He was actually sort of surprised that she was willing to openly agree with Zia. He'd actually thought she would jump in and defend Jurassic World and all the precautions they take.

He was about to chime in on the discussion, when the helicopter finally shut down, the blades slowing to a stop. But it wasn't the helicopter that had caught his attention. Well, not exactly the helicopter — it was Austin's body language. Austin had been talking with the pilot, but as the blades had slowed, he had straightened up and cocked his head to the side, like he had heard something. Now, Owen watched as Austin headed around the helicopter and out of view.

There was only one thing on the other side of the helicopter. Which meant there was only one thing that could possibly be getting his attention. Well, make that _three_ things.

Owen hadn't even realized he was moving forward until he heard Claire calling his name. He didn't even pause. The moment he pushed out the front door he heard what must have caught Austin's attention. A raptor was screeching, clearly in distress. Charlie, if he wasn't mistaken.

He didn't turn around to see what the others were doing, he just started running.

* * *

_Ooh, a cliffhanger. _😯 _Any guesses what will happen next? _

_Thanks to everyone who has left a review or favourited/followed the story. You're why I keep posting._

_Stay safe and I'll see you next week._


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Owen almost ran right past Charlie.

His instinct had been to aim for the stairs and to head up to the catwalk. But as he neared the paddock, he'd realized that the screeching sounded close by and he'd chanced a look into the holding pen, expecting to find Charlie standing at the inner gate.

What he hadn't expected was to find Charlie strapped into her harness, looking exhausted, but still screeching mightily and struggling to get out.

He skidded to a halt in shock. Who would've put Charlie in the harness? Had Barry left her there earlier? No, Owen immediately dismissed that thought. There's no way Barry would've forgotten about that — he would've said something.

Owen immediately entered the holding pen and hurried over to Charlie's side. Her cries quieted for a moment when he reached out, gently placing his hand on her neck, as if she was surprised that she'd finally got someone's attention. But it lasted barely a moment, before she screeched again, continuing to struggle against the harness.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," he soothed, bringing his other hand up and resting it on her snout. "You gotta calm down, Charlie." The raptor continued to screech. "C'mon, girl. Work with me here." He started to gently stroke her neck, keeping his other hand resting heavy against her snout, letting her feel his presence.

"Is she hurt?"

Owen almost jumped, startled. He hadn't realized that Barry had followed him into the holding pen. Actually, he hadn't realized that anyone had followed his sprint across the field.

"She looks injured."

He swung his head to the left to find Zia standing on his other side. He then looked around wildly, suddenly expecting the holding pen to be full of people, but no one else was in there. He did, however, discover that Claire and Austin were standing on the outside of the pen, looking in.

"We need to calm her down," Zia said. "It looks like she's rubbed her skin raw from fighting against the harness. It's hard to tell."

"I'm trying," Owen said, turning his attention back to Charlie. The raptor wasn't any calmer than before. "Charlie!" He tried raising his voice, barking out her name like a command, hoping to snap the raptor out of it, but it didn't work. Letting out a sigh, he slowly trailed his fingers down her snout, lowering his voice, "It's okay, Charlie." Charlie stopped fighting, instead bumping her head up against his hand. "I bet you want out of this harness, right?" he asked. At the word 'harness' Charlie finally paused in her screeching, cocking her head to the side, as much as she could. "Is that it? You want out?" Owen asked again, feeling relieved that she seemed a bit calmer. He stepped back from the raptor, heading over to the controls.

"Wait, I need to check her over," Zia said, but Owen ignored her.

"We don't know how long she's been cooped up in here. She's not going to calm down while she's still restrained," he said, pressing the button to open the harness. "Once she's calm, you can check her over."

The moment the harness let her free, Charlie darted back into the paddock before racing out of sight.

"Where do you think she's going?" Barry asked.

"Wait a second…" Owen paused, staring through the inner gate as a new realization came over him. "Where are Blue and Echo?"

He didn't wait for anyone to answer before he bolted out of the holding pen and up the stairs.

As he ran along the catwalk, his thoughts were racing. What did Charlie know? Were Blue and Echo injured somewhere in the paddock? He wished it wasn't so dark. While the perimeter fencing around the whole encampment had lights on the top of each post, they weren't enough to flood the area. Not even close. Instead, Owen found himself staring into the paddock below as he ran, trying desperately to separate out shadows from what he thought might be raptors.

Owen called out for Charlie. He could hear her. She was crashing through the forested area and calling out for her siblings. He could feel his own heart pounding, his blood feeling like ice in his veins, as he realized that Charlie's voice was still the only one he heard.

He was so focused on trying to follow the sounds from Charlie that he almost barreled straight into Barry, who had apparently followed him up to the catwalk before circling the paddock in the opposite direction.

"Where is she?" Barry asked, still scanning the paddock.

"Where are _any_ of them?" Owen replied, the panic setting in.

o-o-o

Claire watched as Owen raced out of the paddock and up the stairs to the catwalk above, her mind whirling. When Lowery had first said there was something wrong on Sorna, Claire had assumed it was going to be that someone had ended up hurt. That maybe the baby raptors had attacked someone else. When Lowey had said they'd lost contact with the island, she'd figured they'd rush over here just to find out that a storm had blown through and knocked out power or something. That whatever it was would be pretty minor.

And even when they'd arrived and confirmed that the boat at the docks wasn't one of theirs she'd still been able to convince herself that it was probably just that the boat had taken a wrong turn. Finding everyone tied up had forced her to finally grasp the severity of what was going on.

However, even as Zia had brought up the possibility of people stealing embryos or the baby dinosaurs, it had never crossed Claire's mind that someone would attempt to do the same with the raptors. Not the fully grown ones, anyway. But the absolute panic that had been on Owen's face as he'd ran first, out of the building and now, up the stairs to the catwalk, had sent a chill down her spine. She wasn't sure what he was going to find — his girls dead or missing — and she wasn't sure which would be the worse outcome.

Austin's radio crackled to life and Claire watched as he pulled it out. She couldn't make out what was being said, but she knew it had to do with her when he replied: "I'll let her know." He turned to her as he clipped the radio back onto his belt. "Dr. Wu is insisting on getting over to the lab. My men have already checked it out and have said it's in pretty bad shape. They wanted to know if they should let Dr. Wu go over or…?" He left the question hanging.

Claire looked back through the holding pen into the paddock but there was nothing to see. She could hear Charlie screeching from within and Owen calling out Charlie's name from above. She wanted to stay there. What if Blue or Echo were injured or worse? What if Owen needed her?

"Go," Zia told her, and Claire realized she'd forgotten that the other woman was there. "I'm going to be hanging out here until I can get a look at Charlie's injuries. I'll come get you if–" Zia looked away, unable to meet Claire's gaze, but Claire knew that the two women were on the same wavelength.

"Thanks," Claire said gratefully. She turned back to Austin. "Tell them I'll meet them at the lab, but to not let him go in until I get there."

"I'll take you over," Austin said, just as his radio crackled to life again. She waited as he answered, again trying to make out what was being said. She caught the word _raptor _and _docks_. "Be right there," Austin replied into his radio before looking back at her, apologetically. "I can't take you. They've found a raptor at the docks."

"Alive?" Claire asked, fearing the worst. And then, also fearing that if it _was_ alive, that whoever had found it was hurt.

"Alive," he confirmed. "Drugged, we think."

Well, that explained why she wasn't currently hearing screaming, or another raptor screeching in response to Charlie's calls. She knew she should feel concerned for the raptors for being drugged, but she mostly just felt relief. Relief that they'd found them, and relief that it didn't seem like someone was about to get hurt.

"What kind of drugs?" Zia interrupted.

"Don't know yet," Austin said, before pointing up at the catwalk. "I need to get Owen or Barry."

"Go," Claire said. "I'll be fine. I'm just heading straight across the field. I don't need an escort." She pointed at the lab. The building, like the others the ACU had already gone through, was easy to see, now that all the lights had been turned on.

"Actually, I'll go with you," Zia said before Austin could reply. "I need to grab supplies for Charlie. And if we've got drugged raptors…"

"Raptor," Austin corrected, and both looked over at him. "They said raptor, not raptor_s_."

"Then where's…?" Claire asked, trailing off as her gaze darted about the area before looking back into the paddock. Did that mean there could be a loose raptor on the island? Suddenly she wasn't feeling quite so safe standing out there.

Austin seemed to be thinking the same thing. "You need to get inside. Until we've finished our sweep, I don't want anyone roaming around." He looked over at Zia. "That goes for you, too."

"Sure," Claire agreed, looking tentatively over at the lab and feeling a bit concerned about walking across the field.

Austin looked between the two of them and then over at the lab. "I need to get to the docks, but…"

"We'll be fine," Zia reassured him. "We'll go straight there. I work with all the animals here, they know me." Austin looked unconvinced. "And I was in the marines. Straight there and inside. Promise."

"Okay," Austin finally nodded. "I'll tell them you're on your way."

Claire could hear Austin speaking into the radio as he headed up the paddock steps, but she didn't wait around to hear what he said. She glanced through the inner gate again, but she still couldn't see either Charlie or Owen. Fighting her instinct to follow after Austin, to be at Owen's side for the latest news, she turned away from the paddock and started across the field with Zia. She wasn't sure the ACU would be able to keep Henry from entering so she wanted to get there first.

"I guess you had good timing," Zia said as they hurried across the field.

"Huh?" Claire looked over at Zia. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if the raptor down at the dock is drugged, that means whoever was here was probably trying to steal it. So you guys must have interrupted them before they could load it."

"Do you think–?" Claire asked, her gaze darting in the direction of the docks, worry creasing her brow.

"I…" Zia sighed. "I hope not. And, until they've done a complete sweep, let's assume the third one is still here."

"Yeah," Claire agreed, not feeling all that reassured, especially when she noted that Zia didn't look or sound all that confident in what she was saying.

The raptors weren't very small, after all. It seemed unlikely that one would be out and just roaming around, not with Charlie having been locked up and another one drugged. Claire hoped Lowery had managed to get the coast guard out and that they'd be able to intercept the boat.

As she and Zia approached the lab, Claire could see Henry waiting impatiently, two ACU standing in front of the door, preventing him from entering. Claire took a deep breath. She'd deal with the lab first, and then worry about the raptors once they knew for sure if one was gone.

o-o-o

"Owen."

Owen and Barry turned to see who was calling them, and Owen was surprised to see Austin on the catwalk, jogging towards them. When Aust realized he had their attention, he stopped, and waved for them to follow him.

"What is it?" Owen asked, turning back to look into the paddock without waiting for a reply. Where were the raptors?

"Apparently there's a raptor down at the docks," Austin shouted back. "I need one of you to come with me. They're not sure what to do."

Austin's words got Owen's attention and he looked back at the ACU Commander. "Alive?" He almost choked on the word, not sure he actually wanted to know the answer.

"Yes, but they think it's drug–" Austin started to reply when a screech from below interrupted him.

All three of them looked down into the paddock to see that Charlie was now standing below, staring up at them. Owen's heart dropped when he realized that she was still alone.

Fuck.

He looked between Charlie and Austin, unsure what to do.

"Go," Barry told him. "I'll stay with Charlie."

"Are you sure?" Owen asked, still looking down at the raptor, who had started chittering up at them, as though she knew that something was up.

Barry nodded, shooing him away, saying, "Can you ask Zia to bring me some rats?"

Owen hesitated for barely a second more, before turning back towards Austin and starting to run along the catwalk again. Was this night ever going to end?

As they flew down the stairs, he looked for Zia to pass along Barry's request, but he couldn't see her. Or Claire, for that matter. Frowning, he was about to stop, to try to search for them, but he realized that Austin hadn't even paused and was already jogging towards the docks. Owen decided that if Austin wasn't concerned by Claire and Zia's disappearance, then Austin must know where they'd gone. Probably over to one of the buildings, he assumed, as he jogged after the ACU Commander, the thought actually relaxing him slightly. If Claire was inside, she'd be safe.

As they approached the docks, Owen could see the two ACU men who'd been sent out to do recon standing with their guns drawn about 10 yards back from one of the ATVs he remembered spotting from the helicopter. If he hadn't been told that they'd found a raptor, he'd have wondered what they were doing, as it looked like they were just aiming at the ATV.

Slowing to a stop beside the two men, he realized that the raptor they'd found was lying on the trailer hitched to the back of the ATV, still mostly covered by a tarp. The only part visible was part of the snout sticking out. Owen was surprised they'd been able to identify it as a raptor, before realizing that they'd probably just assumed it was, the raptors being the only large dinosaurs currently on Sorna (well, at least in the contained area, as far as they knew).

Inching past the men, intent on getting closer to the trailer, Owen strained to make out which raptor it was. As he slowly approached the trailer, he could feel the ACU men's stances stiffening, their concern rising as they tightened their grips on their guns.

"Careful," Austin said softly from behind him.

Nearing the trailer, Owen was relieved that he could hear the raptor breathing. He reached out, pulling back the tarp. Echo. Well, at least that made two raptors accounted for. Although, if Echo was all the way here at the docks, and Charlie was apparently alone in the paddock…

Owen stood up, his gaze swinging in a wide arc. He was pretty sure there had been another ATV at the dock. Spotting it, he took a step in its direction, but one of the men spoke up.

"We already checked, it's empty."

At that, Owen let his gaze wander the area again, wondering if there was somewhere else Blue could be, but he kept coming up empty. He finally stopped, looking out towards the end of the docks at the ocean beyond. Did that mean…?

o-o-o

The moment they'd stepped into the lab building, Claire had realized that Austin's comment that it was in "bad shape" was a huge understatement. There was broken glass everywhere. Glass, and various liquids spilled about that she didn't know what they were from and that made her immediately nervous. There was a sharp, chemical scent in the air, that had made Claire wonder what she might be breathing in, and if she should be wearing some sort of protection. However, neither Henry nor Zia had seemed concerned by the smell, and so she'd taken her cue from them. As they had crunched their way gingerly into the building, Claire had meant to watch Henry as she had been interested in what his reaction would be, but she had been too flabbergasted to even glance at him. Instead, her gaze had swung from side to side.

"Holy shit," Zia had commented from behind her, and Claire had found herself just nodding in agreement.

They had barely begun to take stock of the damage when the ACU had gotten a request from Austin for Zia to head to the docks first, instead of back to the paddock. Zia had had to cobble together supplies, as her normal med kit had been opened and turned upside down. Eventually, she and one of the ACU had left, leaving the other ACU — Matt — behind.

"We should probably approach this room by room," Claire had suggested and Henry had agreed.

They had decided to cycle through the rooms clockwise and had started with one of the more generic lab rooms. Equipment had been turned over, vials smashed and paper strewn about, but it was hard to get a good idea of what was actually damaged, versus just… disrupted. The next room had been the one with the incubators, and Henry had immediately noted that eggs were missing. There were also at least two that were lying on the floor, cracked. One looked to be mostly sitting in a puddle of goo and Henry had indicated it was from their most recent batch. At the other, Claire had been able to see that there was evidence of… well, life. It looked kind of alien, not that she'd looked for long, not once she'd realized what it was.

"I don't know why they took eggs," Henry had said, shaking his head as he looked around the room. "They're hard enough to keep alive _in here,_ in the controlled environment. They're just going to be dead weight."

Matt had snickered at the comment, and Claire had looked over at him in surprise, the man having mostly stayed silent, hovering behind them as they moved about the rooms.

"Sorry," Matt said, although he wasn't looking all that apologetic. "It's just… _dead_ weights. Considering they'll be actually, you know, _dead_."

Henry had rolled his eyes, but Claire had bit back her own laugh. Sometimes gallows humour was the only way to get through stuff.

From the incubator room, they had checked out Henry's office (trashed, but nothing apparently missing), the cold storage room with the embryos (there was a lot smashed on the ground and Henry had said he couldn't tell if anything had been taken, or if it was just destroyed) and the conference room (which didn't looked disturbed, but, then again, there wasn't really anything to the room). They had skipped Zia's vet room, as they'd already been in when she'd grabbed her supplies and were now in the final room, which was a more specialized lab with a lot of the larger equipment and some fume hoods. Like the first room, the floor and countertops were covered in shards of glass from broken test tubes and beakers and who knew what else.

"What a disaster," Henry said, standing in the middle of the room, looking around. "This is going to take forever to clean up."

"Do you think it's salvageable?" Claire asked.

"Salvageable?" Henry repeated pensvely, glancing at her. "Hmm, I think so. Until we really start to clean up, it's hard to know what's missing, what's repairable, and what's destroyed. And based on the mess in here… that's going to take a few days, at least."

"You've got a catalogue of what should be here, right?" she asked, thinking back to the meticulous records he had kept at the lab on Nublar. "A list we can check against?"

"Everything's tracked," he nodded. "But I don't know how helpful that is. We'll be able to tell you what's not here, but I don't know that we're going to be able to necessarily identify whether it's been taken versus it has just been destroyed."

Claire looked down at all the glass shards covering the floor. "I just don't get why anyone would come all the way here to destroy samples. How does that help them?"

"Maybe it's some environmental group," Henry offered up. "Wanting to free the animals or something. Maybe they were just trying to disrupt our research and thought this was the best way to do so."

"If that was the case, you'd think they'd have just opened the doors to the raptor paddock. Not tried to take them or put Charlie in her harness," Claire said, wandering slowly about the room. "Seems more likely it's someone who wants the research."

"If they want the research, doesn't destroying it seem like an odd choice?" Matt asked. "Like you said, how does this help them?"

"Maybe they think it'll delay us," Henry answered. "But, there's nothing here that we don't have copies of elsewhere. So while it'll work, sort of, it won't keep us back for long. It's going to be cleaning up the lab and getting everything recalibrated that will take the most time. Even still… taking the samples, while it'd be a great leg up to some of our competitors, it's not enough on its own. It's not just the genetic material that matters, but our whole process."

While Claire didn't normally think of Henry as someone who would offer reassurances or comfort — in fact, she was pretty sure those concepts wouldn't even cross his mind — just hearing that the lab would be able to get back up and running with only a slight delay _was_ comforting. It was also a relief to know that it wasn't enough for the research to get out there, as it was only a piece of the solution.

"You always think corporate espionage and stuff are things that only happen in books," Matt said. "Guess they're not."

o-o-o

Getting Echo back into the cage had been tougher than Owen had expected. He'd kind of thought it'd be easy, since she was already loaded onto the trailer and all they needed to do was drive it back. But, when they'd got back to the paddock Charlie had immediately come sprinting over to the inside gate, staring out at them and chirping and chittering loudly.

They had wanted to place Echo inside the small paddock area to wake up, but to do that, they needed Charlie to move out of the way. First, they had tried to get her into her harness, but she'd just given them a "what the hell?" look and refused to even budge in that direction. Then they had tried to convince her to go into the larger paddock section, so they could close off the smaller one. But no matter how many rats and other treats they had tried as lures, she had refused to move more than a few steps, always keeping an eye on Echo through the gates.

There had been a long discussion as to whether they could just move Echo into the holding pen and have her wake up there instead. However, they'd had to rule that out when Zia had logically pointed out that someone had to be _in_ the holding pen in order to open the inner gate, which meant someone would have to be in there, with the gate open, while _both_ the raptors were awake, and that was immediately a no-go.

It was Hoskins who had suggested that they just tranq Charlie. After all, it would give Zia a chance to look over Charlie's injuries. With Charlie refusing to go near the harnesses, Hoskins had pointed out that it was the only way Zia would be able to examine her anyway. Owen had hated the logic behind Hoskins's suggestion. And, after everything that had happened that night, he _really_ hadn't wanted to tranq Charlie, fearing it would traumatize her even more. Out of all the raptors, she was the one who reacted the worst whenever it happened.

Of course, if they _didn't_ tranq Charlie, that left them with only one option — going into the paddock with her. And not just _one_ of them, but a few of them. Because it would take at least four guys to lift Echo into the paddock.

If it had been Blue, and not Charlie, Owen knew he would've thought the idea was _possible_ and given it actual consideration. But, Charlie wasn't Blue, and she was already worked up and anxious. He didn't trust her to listen to him in that state.

In the end, he'd reluctantly agreed to having her tranqed. Owen probably would've spent more time trying to come up with another option, or even trying to lure Charlie to the other paddock area, but they didn't know what Echo had been given, and they didn't know _when_ she'd wake up. Everyone had been operating under a sense of urgency.

While Zia had dosed a rat for Charlie, Owen, Barry and a couple of the ACU men had lifted Echo into the holding pen, so that she was at least contained in case she woke up before Charlie was out. Owen knew Barry was concerned that Charlie wouldn't take the rat (he'd already given her a few), but she seemed to be enjoying the extra attention and snacks, and she happily gobbled it down.

She started swaying almost immediately from the effects, and the moment she hit the ground, Owen hit the button to get the paddock door open. Zia had given Charlie the smallest dose she felt comfortable doing, and so they needed to be fast. They had lifted Echo a few feet into the area, and then Owen and Barry had helped Zia check over Charlie's wounds while the two ACU men stood on guard. Zia had put some salve on some of the abrasions but said that overall Charlie looked fine, and probably wouldn't need any additional treatment, much to Owen's relief.

Everyone had breathed a sigh of relief when they'd finally closed the inner paddock gate. Owen actually closed the one to the larger area as well while he was at it, wanting to keep both the raptors nearby so they could observe them once they woke.

Now that it was over though, he turned back to Austin, who had remained outside, alternating between chatting with Hoskins and on his radio with the rest of his team.

"Have they found Blue?" Owen asked, although he knew what the answer was going to be. If they had, there's no way that Austin would be holding back.

"No, sorry," Austin shook his head. "We've completed our sweep. Any chance she could've got out?" He pointed past the paddock in the direction of the perimeter fence.

"Only if someone opened the gates," Barry answered, having joined them. "But I checked earlier, and they were closed. So, if they did, someone took the time to _only_ let Blue out."

"Which doesn't make sense, considering we found Echo down at the dock," Austin said, and the rest of them nodded their agreement, their faces grim as everyone knew where he was going with that.

"Odd that they were only trying to take the fully grown raptors when there's a whole nursery of babies they could've taken," Zia said. "And not all those are carnivores, so less teeth to deal with." She shrugged, before looking briefly back into the paddock behind her. "I should go check to see how they're doing. Now's probably the best time while Echo and Charlie are still out." She looked over at Austin. "Am I good to go on my own now? Or do I need an _escort_?"

Owen could tell she was holding in an eye roll as she asked about the escort, but he didn't wait to hear Austin's answer, instead turning back to the raptors. He leaned against the gate, his gaze moving back and forth between his two sleeping girls, while his mind whirled over where Blue could be and what could be happening to her.

"Guess it's a good thing we've got the new batch," Hoskins suddenly commented from beside him. "I mean, now that you're down to only two."

Owen felt his jaw drop, as he looked over at Hoskins in shock. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"It could be worse," Hoskins shrugged.

"How the hell are you this calm? Blue is missing. Do you get that? She's been _kidnapped_. Charlie's injured and traumatized. And who knows what condition Echo will be in when she wakes up. And all you can say is 'good thing we've got another batch?' "

It was taking all of Owen's strength to not punch the guy. How could he be so relaxed over everything? Nothing about this was good or okay.

"What do you want me to do?" Hoskins asked defensively.

"Find her!" Owen demanded. "Why aren't you on the phone or calling in choppers or _something_?"

"Who am I supposed to call? The coast guard's already been notified. Who else is there?"

"Aren't you concerned at all? I don't understand why you're not as mad as I am," Owen fumed. "Why aren't you pissed off?"

"What does it help if I get mad?" Hoskins countered. "There's nothing I can do right now. At the moment, all we can do is wait. Wait for these two to wake up. And wait for news from the coast guard."

Owen knew that Hoskins was right. He _knew_ that. But it didn't make him any less angry over everything. And it never seemed to help the situation when _Hoskins_ was the voice of reason. Unsure how to react to Hoskins and certain that if he continued to stand next to the man he was probably going to lose it, Owen just pointed vaguely up at the catwalk. "I'm just going to…"

He didn't wait for Hoskins to reply before he headed for the stairs. Owen _did _hope that the man would be smart enough not to follow.

o-o-o

Claire turned her phone off and let out a long sigh. This night was not going anywhere close to her plans. So much for all that time she'd spent preparing. Fuck. Could _nothing_ ever go her way?

She knew she was overexaggerating. It was not like her life was all that bad. And she'd had plenty of good moments over the past few years, even if the Indominus and Indoraptors and now _this_ were all particularly bad ones. Still, it was hard to focus on the balance at times like this, especially after having just hung up with Simon who wanted her back ASAP.

God, every time something happened, it felt like the fallout got bigger and bigger. While InGen's move to Sorna was not exactly a secret, it was also not widely shared information. Whoever had been to the island had been well-prepared for what was there. Too well-prepared, really. To be able to take out the security that quickly and easily? To have had the time to pretty methodically destroy the labs? To have attempted to kidnap the raptors (and, it seemed, succeeded with one)?

As she had filled Simon in, she had shared her biggest concern, which was one he had, unfortunately, agreed with her on. It seemed more and more likely that this was an inside job. That whoever had been there had to have been supplied some information, at the very least, by someone working on the island.

However, that didn't really narrow their pool of suspects. It wasn't just those who had moved more permanently to the island who would be in a position to share. There were also the boat operators, the helicopter pilots, and almost the entire ACU and security force, since they had started rotating them between the two islands. And then there were all the contractors they'd temporarily hired (and therefore hadn't been put through the same rigorous background checks as their full time employees), like the construction workers for all the building that had been done over the past year. Just the thought of having to comb through everyone who had ever worked on (or visited) Sorna to try to narrow down the possibilities was exhausting.

While she hadn't expected today to be exactly easy (grand openings and the such never were when you were part of the group making it happen, not just someone getting to celebrate it), she had been looking forward to having Owen back home for a couple of days. So much for that.

Turning around, Claire looked for Matt, who was still hanging out in the lab building with her and Henry.

"Matt," she said, approaching him. He looked up at her, a silent question in his eyes. "Can you let Austin know that I need to head back to Nublar ASAP? I have one last thing to do, but then I can meet him and whoever else needs to go back at the helicopter."

"Sure," Matt nodded, unhooking his radio. He stopped her before she could leave the building. "Let me just double check that the area's considered clear now."

Claire held back her eye roll, but she allowed him to go through required protocols. It didn't take long before he waved her to go ahead. She looked back briefly at Henry, but he was busy muttering to himself as he sorted through the piles of paper that were on a desk and she decided to not bother him. It would be more helpful to her if he stayed focused on trying to catalogue what was missing versus destroyed.

Once she left the building, she headed straight across the field towards the raptor paddock. She was pretty confident Owen would still be over there. On her way, she passed Zia who was headed in the opposite direction, back towards the lab. She gave her a quick wave of acknowledgement, but neither of them stopped, both intent on their destinations.

As she neared the paddock, Claire could see Hoskins was chatting with Barry, but she couldn't immediately see Owen. Barry looked over at her as she approached and pointed up at the catwalk before she could even ask. She nodded her thanks as she switched direction.

Owen wasn't hard to find as he hadn't moved far. The raptors, after all, were both close to the inner gate which was near the top of the stairs. Owen was standing by the railing, staring down at the two. Claire couldn't make out his expression between the low light and his position.

She approached him cautiously, feeling a bit like she was approaching a wild animal. As she got closer, she could see that he had a white-knuckled grip on the railing and she could feel the tension radiating off of him. It just made what she was about to do feel that much worse.

"Owen?" she asked softly, reaching out and gently resting a hand against his arm when he didn't react at first. She felt him tense even further for a second, before he glanced in her direction. She caught the almost hint of a smile when he saw her, the most he seemed capable of in the moment, before his face immediately fell back into a frown. He let go of the railing and turned towards her.

"Hey," he said, his voice equally soft.

"I'm so sorry," Claire said, stepping forward and immediately wrapping her arms around him. "I heard that there's no sign of Blue."

"She's probably on that goddamn boat," Owen replied, his voice a bit muffled as he rested his head on her shoulder, face turned in towards her neck. She just pulled him closer, running her hands soothingly up and down his back. They stood there for a long moment before he sighed and pulled back a bit, standing up a bit straighter so he could look back down into the paddock. "I know I should be grateful that they only got one, but… it's Blue, Claire. She's my…"

"I know." She pulled him back towards her. "I know."

This time it was Claire who drew back first, even though she hated to do it. But she knew she didn't have a lot of time. "I talked with Simon. The coast guard is out searching, but they haven't been able to find the boat yet. And… well, with it being dark, they aren't particularly hopeful. Not overnight, anyway. They'll keep searching, of course. And Simon's going to sort out pilots so we can send out some planes to help at first light, but…" She winced before looking away, really wishing she had better news to offer him.

"But the ocean's huge," Owen finished off her sentence. "And we don't know where they were headed. They could be going anywhere, in any direction."

"Yeah," she nodded. "But we're not giving up. Even if we can't find the boat, it'll be hard to keep a raptor of Blue's size hidden. Someone's bound to say something. There'll be chatter. We're going to find her, Owen. I promise."

"Don't!" His reply was sharp and he took a step away from her as he spoke. "Don't say that. Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I–"

"I know you want to," he told her. "And I know you mean it when you say you're going to keep searching but, Claire…" His voice broke and he looked away, looking again down at Charlie and Echo's unconscious forms. "I hope we find her. I just… I need to try to stay realistic about this. Animal traffickers are good. And whoever was here? They seemed to know exactly what they were doing. I don't think they were amateurs."

"Me either," she agreed. Claire debated telling him about her and Simon's suspicions that someone from Sorna had to be involved before deciding not to. She didn't want to add to his worries and making him suspicious of everyone around him was not going to help. He had enough to think about already. Instead, she focused on what she'd actually gone there to tell him. "I have to head back."

"Now?" The resignation in Owen's voice almost broke her. She felt like she was the straw that was about to break the camel's back.

Claire's expression turned apologetic.

"Simon wants me back to take over the coordination there. Henry's cataloguing the damage to the lab, and, well, there's really not much else I can do from here."

"Do you have to?" He wasn't looking at her when he said it, his voice almost childlike in tone. And in that moment, she wanted nothing more than to stay on Sorna and never leave.

There was a cough from the top of the stairs and Claire turned to see Barry standing there. He looked at her apologetically. "Austin said the helicopter will be ready to leave in about five minutes. Hoskins is already heading over to it."

"Thanks, Barry," Claire said. She glanced over at Owen who hadn't even turned around at the interruption before looking back at Barry. He gave her a sympathetic smile before turning and heading back down the steps. She turned back to Owen, choosing to stand beside him looking down at the raptors. She wasn't really sure what she could say, nothing felt adequate, given the circumstances, so she stayed silent.

She was surprised when he eventually broke it. "You know, I had been really looking forward to getting you out of that dress tonight."

Claire startled at the words. She wasn't sure what she'd expected him to say, but that wasn't it. She glanced over at him and saw that he was looking at her now, his gaze slightly suggestive as he gave her a once over, even though she had quickly changed into slacks and a blouse earlier. She knew he was trying to distract himself from everything that had happened, and she was happy to play along.

"Trust me, I was looking forward to that," she said, turning to face him. She let her hand trail down his arm briefly as he turned fully towards her, before reaching for his tie, and tugging on it, pulling him to her. As if everything wasn't upside down enough, he was still (mostly) dressed up for their night out, although the tie had been tugged loose and at some point he'd lost his jacket somewhere. "I was looking forward to getting you out of this suit, too."

"The world really doesn't want us to be together, does it?" Owen asked, as he reached up, tucking a strand of hair that had come loose from her updo back behind her ear, before resting his hand on the back of her neck.

"It really doesn't," she agreed. Claire let go of his tie, resting her hand on top of it, over his heart. She could feel it pounding below her palm. She stared at her hand for a long moment. "God, what a mess this all is. All I wanted was a couple of days with you."

"Same," he said. His hand moved forward, cupping her cheek and tilting her head up. He leaned down, brushing his lips lightly against hers. She surged forward, grabbing his shirt to pull him towards her as she did, deepening the kiss. When they finally pulled back, Owen pressed a kiss to her temple. "We need to get you to the helicopter. It's been more than five minutes."

"They won't leave without me," Claire said. She knew she was right, but she also knew she needed to get going. She looked back down into the paddock at the raptors and Owen followed her gaze.

"C'mon, I'll walk you over," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and leading her away. "I've got a few minutes."

At the bottom of the stairs, Claire broke away from Owen briefly to give Barry a hug, before returning back to Owen's side. They had barely taken a few steps away from the paddock when they saw Zia running across the field towards them, looking frantic.

"Oh no, what now?" Claire said, already worried. What other bad news could there possibly be?

"They're gone," Zia said the moment she was in earshot.

"Who's gone?" Claire asked. She could still see the helicopter.

"The baby dinosaurs," Zia said hurriedly. "Well, not all of them. I guess that's why the security guys who did the check earlier didn't say anything. They didn't know how many were supposed to be in there. They saw some and thought everything was good."

"What ones are gone?" Owen asked and Claire reached for his hand. She really hoped that it wasn't going to be the ones she thought, but she also just knew she was going to be wrong.

"Some of the Compys, both Apatosauruses, and all of the raptors."

* * *

_Poor Charlie. And Owen. And Blue. And all the babies. :( _

_Next few chapters are some of my favourite because they're my favourite type of writing. :P Any guesses? _

_I wish I had some encouraging words on how to get this bizarre timeline we seem stuck in, but... I'm just so tired. So... just please stay home, stay away from others, wash your hands and don't touch your face. And if you can figure out a trick to doing the last one, let me know. _


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Three weeks. It had been three weeks and they still had nothing. Not even a hint of a lead as to where the boat may have been going, or who could be involved, or why _now _and not three months ago.

Owen was at a loss as to what to do. As they still had two raptors, Hoskins had been on his and Barry's case to keep their research going. That now everything would hinge on what they could do and learn with just Charlie and Echo. Owen had almost laughed in Hoskins's face when he'd said that, but had managed to hold it in. What could Hoskins possibly think they could do with just two? It wasn't even that there were only two, but that he didn't have Blue. Blue who had been essentially the glue that had kept everything together and had allowed him to do his work. Without Blue… well, to say that Charlie and Echo were being uncooperative was more than an understatement.

Leaning on the railing, Owen scanned over the paddock below, but he couldn't see either of them. And, these days, it was never just one, as Charlie refused to let her sister out of her sight.

He knew part of it was that they were grieving — again — as they had now lost another sister. And Charlie was still traumatized from being left in the harness and then getting tranqued. Echo wasn't much happier about whatever drug combination she'd been given. It had taken her much longer than Charlie to wake up and shake off all the lingering effects. Whatever cocktail they'd fed her had definitely thrown her for a loop.

Which just made Owen even _more_ concerned about Blue. Was she okay? Was she even still _alive_? He didn't like to think about that too much. And he refused to give up hope. Not yet. Not until they heard something from whoever had taken her.

He also felt kind of guilty. He'd spent the last three weeks fretting over Charlie and Echo and worried about Blue and had barely spared even a few seconds of thought for Sky, Fern, Pepper, and Snow. He knew he should probably be even more concerned about them. They were still little. Still learning about their own capabilities. They probably had been somewhat trusting of whoever had come and taken them, having spent their whole lives interacting with humans.

He just… he'd never really bonded with them. Not the way he had with his girls. He'd tried. He really had. It just wasn't the same. _They_ weren't the same. Which should've been a good thing. He didn't want a set of clones. But… it wasn't all new and exciting with them the way it had been with Blue and the others. This time he knew what he was getting into, and he had so many other things already on his plate. He just hadn't had the time for them that he probably should have.

Speaking of time for things… he was also feeling a tiny bit guilty about canceling on Claire the previous week. Actually, what he really felt was guilty over how _little_ guilt he felt about cancelling. It wasn't the right time for him to take a few days off island. Not with Echo and Charlie practically out of control.

Sure, it was their one-year anniversary but… what did that really matter? After all, they both agreed they had had real feelings back when they had been fake dating. So… how were you really supposed to count how long they'd been together? Also, it wasn't like the date was only a marker of good memories. It was also the marker of the Indoraptors' escape and the fight that had led to Delta's death. It wasn't easy to just focus on the good, especially with Blue now gone.

He knew Claire had been disappointed. He could tell in the way she'd hesitated when he'd told her. And in the way her replies had been short and clipped afterwards, like she was trying to keep from saying what she really wanted to say. He knew that she'd actually scheduled the days off and offloaded her calendar so that she really would've had the whole time for just the two of them. And not just that, but that she'd been looking at places on the mainland, so that they could actually put the park behind them for the few days. He hadn't realized that she'd booked something until she'd made a comment about canceling.

While her clipped replies had clued him in that she was upset, it was the fact that she hadn't even pushed back, forcing a happy tone to her voice as she kept telling him "no problem" that had made him feel like a jackass. And for a brief moment, he'd almost told her to not cancel, that he'd somehow make it work. But he'd been standing on the catwalk at the time, and at that moment Echo had lunged at Charlie, probably pissed off that Charlie _still_ refused to be more than a couple of feet away from her, and the two had started fighting. He wasn't even positive that he'd actually said goodbye, having hung up so fast as he had shouted for Barry and for some tech to bring them some damn rats or _something_, before yelling down at the raptors, trying to get their attention and break them up.

When they'd spoken a few hours later, he'd kept waiting for her to bring up their cancelled plans again, but she hadn't, and so _he_ hadn't. And… well, that was the last time they'd talked about it. And everything had seemed fine since. They still talked regularly, she continued to fill him in on the steps they were taking as they tried to figure out who had been on the boat and what happened, and when the day had come that he was supposed to have gone over, she hadn't said anything as though it didn't matter.

It hadn't been until the following day, what would've been their first full day off together, that he realized he didn't know if she had chosen to still take those days off. She'd never said, and he'd actually found himself kind of expecting her to show up on Sorna with a picnic basket, trying to take his mind off everything or to celebrate. He'd been half-distracted all day, his gaze continually scanning the horizon, expecting to see a helicopter, but nothing had ever emerged. Even now, a couple of weeks later, he couldn't decide if he was more disappointed or relieved that she hadn't shown up.

When they'd talked later that night, she'd mentioned a story about something that had happened that day at work, and he'd gotten his answer. In the moment, he'd been mostly feeling disappointed that she hadn't chosen to come visit him instead. And while he knew that she'd never take the helicopter over to visit 'just because,' he'd still been hopeful that she'd have figured out a way to come see him. That she'd have understood that just because he couldn't leave, that it didn't mean he didn't want to see her. He was sure that she could've come up with something that she needed to come to Sorna to check on in person, if she really wanted to. But the raptors had kept him busy all day, and he knew that if she _had_ shown up, he wouldn't have been able to pull himself away from the paddock for long, if at all.

He also couldn't decide if her _not_ showing up was her being petty over him canceling or if she was genuinely busy. Owen didn't think of Claire as someone who would do something like that, but he was also kind of disappointed at how _well_ she'd taken him cancelling. Shouldn't she have been more upset? Shouldn't she have at least fought him on it a little? (Did he want her to?)

Of course, there didn't seem to be one way to deal with what had happened. Hoskins had just become more insufferable over it all, what with his extra pushiness that they needed to continue to do everything as before, regardless of the fact that they were down another raptor. Zia had become over-attentive to all the animals that remained, particularly the youngest of the babies. He knew she felt guilty for having taken so long to check on them. And one of the cooks had asked to be reassigned, saying he didn't feel safe on the island anymore.

Even Wu had behaved unexpectedly. While he'd stuck around for the lab clean up, the moment it was done, he'd taken some vacation time himself, saying he needed a break. He was supposed to be back next week, if Owen had heard correctly. There were rumours that his "break" was actually him just working out of one of the labs in California, just not wanting to be on the island for a bit. Owen was a bit suspicious about that, wondering if there was actually another hybrid or something in the works and Wu needed access to something from somewhere else, but when he'd mentioned those thoughts to Claire, she'd said that she hadn't heard of anything like that and that, to her knowledge, he really was on vacation.

That had actually been the first time that Claire had mentioned the two of them taking a vacation again. Not that they'd ever referred to their original plans for their anniversary as a _vacation_. But she'd made a comment that maybe they should follow Wu's lead and get away for a week or something. That the holidays were coming up and, well, they both had lots of unclaimed vacation time remaining.

In response to that, Owen had just raised his same objections that he had earlier. That until they had some news on Blue, and until he and Barry figured out how to deal with Charlie and Echo, that he couldn't get away. Not yet.

He'd tried to soften it, by saying that they should plan something for next year. And by saying that he missed her. Only to have it backfire, when she'd reminded him that he could've seen her if he'd just come home as planned, that the reason they _hadn't_ seen each other in weeks was not because of her choices. She'd changed the topic before he could reply, and since he hadn't been sure how to respond to that, he'd happily gone along with it.

He did miss her, though. He hadn't expected him not getting away to mean that they wouldn't be seeing each other.

But, before he could start to dwell on that again, there was a screech from below and he looked down to see Echo staring up at him, baring her teeth as she growled, Charlie standing a few steps behind her. When he didn't move, Echo's gaze darted from him out the holding pen before back up to him again. He looked down at her blankly, and she repeated the movement more forcefully, letting out an even louder growl.

"Right, food." Owen finally clued in to what she wanted. "Sorry. Sorry. I'm on it."

o-o-o

Claire had never wanted to be able to time-travel as much as she did right now. She didn't even want to go all that far back. Just four weeks or so. Sometime before the incident on Sorna. Before Blue and the raptors and other dinosaurs had been taken. Before it felt like her world had been upended once again.

The last few weeks had been hell. And the next few weeks were looking to be more of the same. She'd been working pretty much nonstop since everything had happened. That bit, she didn't really mind. She could handle the extra workload. What she _did_ mind, was that she had absolutely nothing to show for it. There were no leads. No reported sightings. Nothing. Just… silence.

She was now wondering if she'd made a mistake in agreeing with Simon and Hoskins that they should keep the incident as quiet as possible. Not that she wanted to be dealing with all the media attention that they would receive if people knew what had happened. But maybe they'd have some leads if people at least knew to be on the lookout for dinosaurs.

However, they had been equally concerned with potentially causing mass panic everywhere (since they had no idea where the dinosaurs had ended up) and the negative hit Jurassic World would take as more stories would once again flood the news and claim that they were unable to keep people safe. Thankfully, since no one had been badly injured, and the only people involved had been Jurassic World and InGen employees, it had been easy to keep the whole incident underwraps.

That being said, they had reached out to the proper authorities and to their insurance. It wasn't that _no one_ knew, just that they were trying to keep it quiet. The good thing was that this meant she wasn't the only one trying to figure out what happend. However, so far, their investigations had been just as fruitless as hers. She'd gone through all the employee files of everyone who had ever even stepped foot on Sorna, from those who worked there, to the temporary construction workers they'd hired, to those who flew the helicopters or were crew on the boats. So far, nothing had turned up.

And, the people she was inclined to be most suspicious of — Hoskins and Henry — well, both of them had a lot of people to vouch for their whereabouts during it all. Hoskins had been at the reception with her and Owen. And Henry had been one of the ones captured on the island, tied up with all the others. She was still suspicious, reminding herself that they could've shared intel with whoever was there, but considering their own work was part of what had been affected, Henry's research left a mess and most of the raptors missing, she felt like she was grasping at straws.

What she hated the most, was how it was affecting her relationship with Owen. Between her being busy at all hours, and Owen now dealing with two extremely moody and unhappy raptors, their nightly phone calls had become more sporadic, while also significantly decreasing in length when they did manage to happen. Since that night, Owen had chosen to remain on Sorna and Claire had been unable to find time to get back there, though she had tried (something she wished it felt like Owen was also doing). It felt almost ironic that she'd been concerned she'd never see him with the addition of the baby raptors, and it was turning out that it had been easier to see him then, than now that he only had two.

The only upside to everything, was that the research institute was now open and humming along. Everything she'd heard about it so far was positive. The rest of the grand opening events had gone off without a hitch, and Jurassic World had received a lot of positive publicity out of it all. Even some of the usual critics had had something good to say about the institute.

She just wished she had the time and energy to actually take in the praise.

And someone to share it with.

o-o-o

A large screech followed by "Oh my god, would you just SHUT UP!" had Henry looking up from his work. He turned towards the doorway, unsurprised to find Eli stomping his way into the lab, a scowl on the man's face. The screeching was abruptly cut off when the door finally closed behind Eli.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to keep all of this hidden from Ben and everyone if that damn raptor won't cut if out," Eli fumed, stalking over to Henry. "It can't seriously keep this up every day, can it?"

"Probably not," Henry replied evenly, acting unperturbed because he knew it would annoy the other man. "She's not used to being here yet. Give her time."

"We don't _have_ time," Eli growled. "The moment any of this gets found out, it's over. And Wade has said we can't keep tranqing her. Not if we don't want other problems."

"Have you tried feeding her more?" Henry suggested, looking up. "Maybe she's hungry?"

"She's barely even eating what we give her," Eli sighed, sinking down into a chair beside him. "If she wasn't an animal, I'd say she was on a hunger strike."

"She's also used to more freedom and a much larger space," Henry said after a moment. "And, of course, having her siblings. Maybe we should've kept the baby raptors. Or at least one of them. Given her some company."

"Well, it's too late for that," Eli scowled. "Although you could make more."

"I can," Henry nodded, "but not anytime soon."

Eli frowned, confused. "I thought you said the lab was good to go? That you'd be able to get eggs incubating before you left?"

Henry rolled his eyes, turning back to his work. "There will be eggs incubating. But an egg is not the same as another dinosaur. Blue'll have to wait at least eight weeks for that."

"Eight weeks?!"

"This isn't new information," Henry just said, fed up with Eli's theatrics. While he'd been enjoying his time up there and getting to work on a bunch of ideas he'd had laying around but hadn't been able to execute under the constant scrutiny he'd been under on Nublar and Sorna, he was _not_ enjoying the easy access Eli had to him. He was, surprisingly, actually looking forward to getting back to Sorna. At least Hoskins was slightly more tolerable. "But, if you really do want _any_ eggs incubating, you need to actually let me work and stop interrupting me."

There was a huff before Eli stood up and walked away. Henry braced himself for the noise as Eli left. As Blue's screeches echoed around the lab briefly he found himself tensing. Until he'd moved to Sorna, he'd rarely spent much time near any of the dinosaurs after they were more than a few weeks old. But, on Sorna, with the nursery _right there_ and the raptors the only large dinosaurs around (and the whole area relatively small, making it difficult to avoid them) and with there not much else to do outside of his lab, he'd found himself observing all of them. He'd avoided the raptors at first, but after they'd escaped and it was discovered that they'd essentially used a _tool_ to do so, he'd found his interest piqued.

From the moment the first egg had hatched almost 30 years ago, Henry had found himself enthralled by the whole new field that had opened in front of him. The one thing science never lacked was more questions and paths to pursue. Bringing back the first species had just made him even more eager to bring back others. It had never been, for him, about the wonder and awe of dinosaurs, specifically. It had been about the challenge of breaking through the known scientific limits. All of his creations were, really, hybrids, as they had yet to ever encounter a complete DNA strand to work from and had always had to fill in the gaps. As he'd started to get sort of bored with his work, he'd actually been the one who first proposed creating their own. The day Masrani had finally agreed, wanting something "bigger, louder, more teeth," Henry had been more than happy to leap at the challenge.

But, after the fallout from the Indominus and then with the Indoraptors, and then the more time he'd spent observing the raptors on Sorna, Henry was starting to look at his research a bit differently. He was still interested in hybrids, and he still wanted to push his research further, but he was now beginning to get more interested in the outcomes. Not just whether or not he could bring something to life, but what would happen once it was there.

Owen's success with the raptors (and James's success with the Indoraptors) both felt like they had opened new avenues for exploration. And as much as working with Hoskins and Eli was frustrating and pushing him to his limit, the opportunity to more fully explore the domestication of dinosaurs was alluring. In his observations of the raptors, he'd been able to see what Owen had always been talking about when it came to Blue and how she was different. And now he had Blue. He was excited to test out some new theories with his next batch of raptors.

o-o-o

As she sat at her desk, Claire stared at her phone lying in front of her. She knew what she needed to do, but she really didn't want to do it. She'd been trying to psych herself up to call him all day.

Turning away from her phone, she looked out her office window and down onto Main Street. It was dark, the sun having set over an hour ago, but the street was brightly lit and tourists were still hurrying up and down it, ducking into the various stores and restaurants. Across the lagoon, she could see the hotel, many of the windows lit up.

She should've gone home, she was thinking now. Maybe this conversation would be easier if she phoned him from their place. Or maybe out at his lot. Although the cell connection out there could be spotty. And, she didn't really want to have this conversation in their place. She didn't want it to be possibly tainted by the fight she was sure to come.

Her office was quiet. Everyone else had left hours ago. Zara had been looking at her concerned all day and had been the last to leave, poking her head in a few times, confirming that Claire really was okay and that she really didn't need her. Before Zara had finally left after seven, she'd checked in on Claire one last time and had simply said, "If you need to talk — now, later, middle of the night, whenever — call me. Okay?"

Claire had nodded, but she knew she'd never call her. She still found it difficult enough when she was talking to her sister to always fully express what was on her mind around Owen. Partly, because she knew a lot of her thoughts were irrational. She knew Karen would (rightly) call her out, but she also knew Karen doing that wouldn't change how she felt.

How was she supposed to have a conversation like that with Zara? Claire was her boss. She was supposed to always exude confidence and control. She already felt slightly off kilter just knowing that Zara had picked up on her mood all day and seemed to have a pretty good idea what it was about. There was always a downside when you let someone have that much control over your calendar — they knew of every change, no matter how seemingly insignificant or massively big.

Gritting her teeth, Claire turned back to her desk and picked up her phone. She needed to get it over with. Continuing to think about it was just going to make it harder. Before she could talk herself out of it again, she unlocked the phone and tapped on Owen's name.

As the phone rang, she stood up, pacing the length of her office. Maybe he wasn't going to answer. Maybe she'd got herself all worked up over this, and he wasn't even going to be available to talk. She was about to hang up, when he finally picked up.

"_Claire?_" Owen asked, his voice sounding breathless.

"Hey," she replied, trying to keep her voice steady. "Is now a bad time?"

"_Bad? No. I'm just lying on my bed._"

"You sound out of breath," she said, confused. "Everything okay?"

There was a long pause and her anxiety shot through the roof. What was he covering up? "_I_ _was in the bathroom,_" he finally admitted. "_I was trying to get to the phone before voicemail picked up._"

At that, she let out a short laugh, feeling some of her tension drain away. "You could've just called me back, you know."

"_I know, but I didn't want to miss it,_" he said, before switching the topic. "_How are _you _doing?_"

"I'm…" Claire wasn't sure how to answer that. It didn't feel okay to say "not great." But, she also needed to be honest with him.

"_What's wrong?_" Owen asked, and she could hear him shifting about, probably sitting up on his bed. She could picture the way his forehead would crinkle when he was worried. The way he'd raise a hand and scrub it along his jaw. She hated knowing she was the cause of it. "_Claire, seriously, what's wrong?_" he asked again, when she didn't answer.

"I wanted to talk to you again about going away for Christmas," she finally managed to force out.

There was a long pause on the line. "_That again?_" he said. "_I already told you that it's not a good time to be going away. Not with Blue still missing and Charlie and Echo still completely out of sorts… I can't go away now._"

She could feel her irritation rising. "Owen… it's been a few weeks–"

"_This isn't the sort of thing you can get over in just a couple of weeks,_" Owen interrupted, and she could tell he was getting frustrated. Not that she could blame him, she was frustrated, too. And it felt like they'd been stuck in a loop, having this same conversation over and over again.

"I'm not asking you to get over it. I'm just asking you to realize that I'm still here," she replied, trying hard to keep the waver out of her voice, although she couldn't help it when it broke near the end. "_I'm_ still here," she repeated. "I know it's not the same, but…"

Passing by her desk, Claire grabbed a kleenex, angrily wiping away at the tears that had started to slide down her cheeks. For once she was glad of the crappy internet on Sorna that made video chats almost impossible and that Owen couldn't see her. She didn't want to cry. She just wanted him to understand that she missed him. She waited for him to say something — anything — but he was silent. She could hear him breathing on the other end, the only sign they were still connected.

"I get why you didn't come back last week," she told him. "I know that it's tough–"

"_No, you _don't _know,_" Owen interrupted her again. "_You can't get it._"

"I'm _trying_," she cried. "I've _been_ trying. I'm chasing down every lead I can. I'm doing my best to find her. To find _all_ of them."

"_Well, it's not enough,_" he said firmly. "_Every day they're still missing, the chances of us finding them get worse._"

"I–" Claire cut herself off, not really sure how to respond to that. This isn't what she wanted to talk about. "I know that. Owen, I really do. And I really am trying my best. Simon has pretty much given me a blank cheque to pursue any leads we can find. Blue and the other raptors aren't the only things that were stolen, Owen. The amount of potential proprietary knowledge that is now out there… It could be a devastating blow to Jurassic World."

"_Dammit, Claire. Who cares that Wu's research is getting out there? They stole BLUE. Can you at least pretend to care about that for one goddamn minute? Fuck Jurassic World!_"

She froze at his words, her hand clutching the phone so tightly she thought she might snap it in two. No, no, no, no, no. She tried to force herself to take a deep breath, but her lungs felt incapable of expanding. He's just upset, she told herself. He's been on edge for weeks now. He doesn't mean it. He knows you. He knows that you care.

Claire reached out for her desk, resting a hand heavily on top of it. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, her breath escaping in short gasps. She covered her mouth with her other hand, her phone still clenched in it, trying to regain control. She wasn't sure if Owen was saying anything, but she wasn't ready to hear it even if he was. After a minute, she raised the phone back to her ear.

"I just… I don't know how else to help," she said, desperately trying to keep her voice even, but knowing he was going to see through it anyway. "I thought a break would be good. A change of scenery for a few days. We didn't… I…" She paused, trying to force another deep breath, before finishing. "If you can't get away, that's fine. Karen's been asking me to visit. I think I might book a trip to go see them."

She held her breath, unsure what Owen was going to say.

"_Claire…_" he started, before trailing off. "_Maybe that's a good idea._" She felt her hopes rising, that maybe she'd finally got through to him, only for his final words to bring it crashing down. "_Go see Karen. You deserve a break._"

Biting back the sob she could feel building in her chest, swallowing over the lump in her throat, she barely managed to get out "Okay," before quickly hanging up the phone. She knew she couldn't stay on it any longer. Not if she was going to maintain any semblance of keeping it together.

She let her phone drop to the desk, her shoulders shaking as the sob finally broke through. Almost immediately, the phone rang, skittering across the desk, but she didn't budge. She counted out the rings, waiting for the voicemail to kick in, but instead of falling silent, the phone just immediately started ringing again.

Turning away from her desk, she walked over to her window and looked back down onto Main Street. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, staring down at the colourful blur of the tourists, but when she finally turned away from it, pulling herself back into the present, her phone was silent.

* * *

😭 _I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to put this in, in my original plan, but it just worked out. And I really do love writing angst. I'm going to go run away and hide now._


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

As her phone rang, Claire stared at it, seeing Owen's name on the screen. She knew she should pick up. While it hadn't been a conscious choice to start avoiding his calls, she no longer could deny that she was.

After their phone call a few nights back, she'd been at a loss as to what to do next. That night, when she'd finally looked at her phone, except for the string of missed calls, there were no other notifications. She had kind of thought he'd send a text message. Or even leave a voicemail. She didn't know how to interpret the fact that he'd done neither.

Claire hadn't been ready to talk to him again that evening. She knew she wouldn't be able to hold it together, and she didn't want to have a fight over the phone and say something she would later regret. Instead, she'd sat back down at her desk and had started searching for flights to Madison. Not only had she searched, but she'd been a click away from actually buying a ticket when she'd come to her senses. There was no way she could show up at Karen's _without_ Owen. The invite had been for the _two_ of them to come visit. And, unless she wanted a visit that would be a nonstop interrogation as to what was going on, showing up alone was not an option.

The next day, she'd expected him to show up. That like last time, he'd surprise her by coming back, knowing they needed to talk face-to-face. She'd been disappointed when he hadn't walked into her office, before reminding herself that he probably wouldn't want to make a public show of things. She'd hurried home that day, leaving as early as she dared to, without raising any extra suspicion from Zara (who had been watching her carefully all day). But, their condo had been empty. She had checked her phone again, but he hadn't reached out. No missed phone calls, text messages, nothing. It had been a long evening as she'd stared at her phone, waiting, _hoping_ for him to call, and yet, it had remained silent.

Yesterday, not wanting a repeat of the day before, she'd stayed late at work. And when she'd finally convinced herself to leave, she'd found herself driving past the hotel until she'd reached Owen's lot. It had already been dark by the time she got there, and while she'd been there at night before, she hadn't been there alone. The hammock hadn't held the same appeal in the dark, and after wandering the outside for a bit, she'd ended up in his trailer instead. There was a sweatshirt of his laying on the back of the small couch, and she'd picked it up as she'd sat down. While she was still mad at him, she also just really missed him. She didn't want to be dealing with everything alone. She just wanted him to acknowledge that she was in his corner and had been working crazy hours, too. That it wasn't just him who was suffering over all of this.

Shivering, not because she was cold, but more just feeling lost and adrift, she'd pulled on the sweatshirt. It wasn't nearly as good as actually being wrapped up in his arms, but considering that wasn't currently an option, it would have to make do. It had been as she was sitting on the couch, curled into a ball in the corner, her nose tucked below the collar of the sweatshirt, that her phone had rang. She had frozen, unsure if she even wanted to know who was calling. Claire hadn't felt up to talking to _anyone_, not just Owen, and in the end she hadn't moved. When it stopped ringing, only to soon start up again, she'd forced herself to get up. After all, it _could_ be the control room and an emergency. When she had seen Owen's name on the screen, she had hesitated with a finger over the accept call button, before putting the phone back down without answering. She still wasn't ready to talk to him, she'd realized. She needed more time.

He hadn't left a message. She wasn't sure what to make of that, except that she thought maybe he understood that she wasn't ready to talk. But… she still had sort of expected _something_.

Now, however, as the phone rang, she knew she should answer. That she really should've answered yesterday. She was being petty, continuing to ignore his calls. At least he was trying to reach out. That was more than she'd done, even if she felt like her reaction was justified. And even if it was him who was in the wrong, being an adult should mean being above being petty and taking the high road.

But knowing she should answer and actually convincing herself to do so wasn't so easy. And so, again, the ringing eventually stopped while she argued with herself. This time, however, instead of immediately ringing again, she was alerted to a text message.

**Please, Claire, pick up.**

There was a short pause, and then the phone started ringing again. She took a deep breath, before accepting the call. She didn't say anything, not trusting her voice to be able to hold steady. She didn't want to start the call by yelling. Or by crying.

"_Claire?_" Owen asked after a moment, his voice hesitant and disbelieving, as though he wasn't sure she had actually answered.

"Hi," she finally responded, not knowing what else to say.

"_You picked up._" His relief was evident, and she felt a pang of guilt over her actions. She liked to think of herself as a better, _bigger_, person than someone who gives the silent treatment. But she also wasn't ready to just forgive him. "_I wasn't sure you would._"

"I–" Claire cut herself off, before saying on a sigh, "What do you want, Owen?"

"_Want?_" He sounded confused. "_To talk to you. You didn't pick up yesterday._"

"Because I wasn't ready to talk," she said flatly, not sure if he was being deliberately obtuse or if he really didn't get it.

"_I've missed you_."

"Really?" She let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "Sure doesn't seem like it."

"_What's that supposed to mean?_" For the first time, his voice took on a sharp edge.

"There's been plenty of opportunity for you to come see me, if you really wanted to." She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but she knew she wasn't really succeeding. "It's been almost a month, Owen." As she said that, she couldn't help but wonder how much longer it was going to be. Or if it was going to end, at all.

"_You could've come here_," he replied, though it came across to her more like petty petulance. "_The boats don't just go one way, you know. You've also got access to the helicopters._"

"Owen…" Claire sighed, she really didn't want to get into another fight over this. She didn't want to be at odds.

"_I'm sorry that I can't take a vacation right now,_" he continued. "_But… you're not here. You're not seeing how the girls are behaving. Things are a disaster. I can't leave them like this. _"

"I wasn't–" Claire started, but again Owen didn't let her finish.

"_My work's not like your work. I can't pick it up and take it with me._"

His words mader her hackles stand on end.

"I wasn't asking you to hop on a plane today. I was asking you to think about getting away a few weeks from now. I was asking you to consider _me_ as important as your raptors."

Dammit, she hadn't wanted to say that. She didn't want to be the girlfriend who gave ultimatums or made their boyfriends make impossible choices. She didn't expect Owen to always pick her over his job or to put her first no matter what. It wasn't realistic to ever expect that from _anyone_. But she just wanted to believe that it actually _was_ a choice for him. That he _wanted_ to pick her, even when he couldn't.

Wincing, she waited for his response. For a long minute, she could hear him breathing, the only indication that he hadn't hung up.

"_You are important_," he finally said.

"Am I?" she asked, snidely. "Because it doesn't feel like it."

"_Claire,_" he drew out her name on a long sigh. "_I wish things were different. It wasn't my choice to move to Sorna. And it most definitely wasn't my choice to have my raptors stolen. I've been dealt a shitty hand. I'm trying to make the best of it that I can._"

She got that, she did. But, did it make _her_ a shitty person to still think it wasn't enough?

"_I can't leave them when they're like this. They already got out once. It's not fair to Barry to make him deal with this alone. It's not just me, you know? He's doing the same thing, staying here to back me up._"

Well, now she definitely felt like she was a shitty person. She got why he hadn't left yet. And she really did understand why he'd canceled on their anniversary, even if it had sucked. The first relationship she'd ever been in to hit one year and then… nothing. Not that she'd had much time to think about it on the actual date. But Karen had brought it up in a call, and since Claire hadn't told her what had happened on Sorna, she'd had to sidestep her way around and pretend that everything was fine and that they'd done something. She always felt worse when she lied.

Claire hadn't realized how long she'd been silent until there was another deep sigh from Owen on the other end.

"_I am sorry, Claire. I hope things will get better. I'm actively _working _to make things better. But I don't want to promise to go away only to cancel on you last minute. You know how long they were out of sorts after the Indoraptors, and this feels ten times worse._"

Unbidden, a phrase her mom used to say to her and Karen growing up popped into her mind: _A promise tomorrow is worth a lot less than trying today._ She had to clamp her mouth shut from voicing it aloud. Shaking her head, trying to dislodge the thought, and knowing that it wasn't going to be worth trying to talk about this topic anymore, not now, Claire desperately tried to figure out something else to say.

"I went to your lot last night."

"_Our lot_," Owen corrected her, and the wording made her pause. Funny, she'd gotten used to calling her condo _theirs_, but his lot had always remained _his_ to her. Now, she was left wondering if he'd called it _theirs_ before and she'd missed it. "How's it doing? Power still working?"

"Yeah, lights were fine," she confirmed. "There haven't been any major storms recently, though."

The rest of their conversation felt sort of stilted, as if both of them were tiptoeing around what to say, but she did appreciate that he didn't seem eager to hang up. Maybe they were still on iffy ground, but at least he still seemed to want to talk to her.

When she finally did hang up, after she'd started yawning and Owen had encouraged her to go to bed, she realized that he'd never asked her about her plans. That he'd never followed up to see if she was going to see Karen or get away, and she was reminded of the other news that she'd had to share.

Earlier that day, on a call with Simon, he'd mentioned some business meetings he wanted her to take in New York. The timing was relatively last minute, the meetings only a week and a half away, but he'd thrown in a suggestion that she take Owen and tack on a few extra days and make a bit of a holiday of it. "_You've been working too hard, Claire. You need a break. And from what I hear, Owen could use one, too. Why don't you two make a week of it? I know you love the city._"

It had taken Claire barely half a second to agree to go to the meetings. Sure, she couldn't go to Karen's, but here was the perfect opportunity to still get away for a bit. And she really did love New York. She'd said that she would ask Owen to see if he could go along, even though she was pretty positive she already knew his answer. She hadn't booked her tickets yet as part of her was still holding out hope that maybe Owen would change his mind about going away. However, it was clear he hadn't, and that there was no use asking; it would just be another sore point. But, that didn't mean she shouldn't go.

o-o-o

"Everything okay with you?"

Owen looked up from his laptop where he'd been — admittedly angrily — pecking away at the keys as he typed out another report to see that Barry was looking at him concerned.

"As fine as it can be," Owen replied, shoving the keyboard away from him before reaching up to scrub his hands down his face. "Fucking paperwork. This is such a waste of time. It's not like there's anything new to report. I might as well just copy and paste what I've written every day for the past five fucking weeks: _Charlie and Echo continue to resist all training exercises._"

"You need a break," Barry said, after a pause. "Why don't you take a couple of days, get off island for a bit. Go see Claire."

"I can't." Owen immediately shook his head.

"Why not?" Barry asked. "Nothing we've done so far is working. Maybe a break would be good. Both for you _and_ for the girls."

Owen hadn't thought of it that way, and now that Barry put it into words, he wasn't sure he liked it.

"No, I can't. What if something else happens? I need to be here."

He could feel Barry studying him, but he stared down at his desk, focusing on a scratch in the wood he'd never noticed before.

There was a long pause before Barry spoke up. "If you'd been here that night, it wouldn't have changed anything. You get that, right?"

"I…" Owen sighed.

He _did_ get that. But he also didn't. He wasn't sure what he could've done if he had been there. Or how he could've made a difference. But, what he hated was that he'd never had a chance to even _try_. He hadn't been there to protect them.

"It's not just that," he told Barry. "I mean, I don't expect those people to come back. There's almost nothing left to steal now. But… you know how restless the girls are. I keep waiting for them to make a break for it. To escape again. _Something_." He looked over at his friend, his gaze imploring, wanting, _hoping_, Barry would understand.

There was another pause, and then Barry nodded. "Yeah, I get that. I'm waiting for it, too."

"I just don't trust them," Owen said. "The girls," he clarified when Barry looked confused. "I don't trust them not to do something the moment I'm gone. I need to be here."

Barry nodded again, but didn't say anything. After a minute, Owen pulled his keyboard back towards him, thinking the conversation was over.

"Any chance Claire can come over here?" Barry asked, and Owen immediately looked back up. "If you can't get there, maybe she could come here. I still think you need a break. And if you can't go, well…"

"She's…" Owen wanted to say that she couldn't. But he knew that wasn't really true, even if Claire would argue that it was. After all, if she thought she could find time for a vacation, surely she could instead come over to Sorna for a bit. Not that it would be a vacation, not really. And not just that, there would also be no privacy. "She's busy."

"Hmm," Barry just said noncommittally, and Owen was tempted to ask what the other man was thinking, except he didn't really want more opinions in his head.

Owen was struggling enough to sort through his own thoughts and feelings over everything. He knew that Claire was frustrated with him. That she didn't fully understand or agree with his decision not to leave Sorna until the situation stabilized. While they were still talking, it wasn't quite as regular as it used to be. No longer every night. And no longer as comfortable as it once was. Often the conversation felt strained, like they were both working to avoid certain topics and then finding themselves floundering, not knowing what else to talk about. He wasn't sure how to fix it, and part of him couldn't help but wonder if it even could be fixed.

Turning back to his computer, he attempted to focus on his report again, although he couldn't stop his mind from whirling. He wished he could just get away. Not off the island, just somewhere where he could be alone for a bit. But, for all the construction that had happened over the last six or so months with all the new buildings, the area still felt too cramped. While Barry was right that he needed a break, there was just no where to do that on the island.

"What are _you _doing here? Shouldn't you be gone?"

This time it wasn't Barry who interrupted his thoughts, and when Owen looked up he found Hoskins was standing in the doorway, looking in at the two, although his gaze was focused on Owen. Owen wondered how long he'd zoned out for. He hadn't heard Hoskins arrive.

"Gone where?" Owen asked, puzzled.

"New York," Hoskins said, sauntering into the room.

Owen wasn't sure what Hoskins was talking about, but he also didn't want to admit that. Knowing Hoskins, it was probably something Owen _should_ know. He stayed quiet, pretending to be focused on his work, hoping Hoskins would spill a few more details. It didn't take long before the other man did.

"I thought maybe I'd missed your request for time off, when I heard about it," Hoskins said. "Claire seemed happy to be leaving."

Owen stiffened, trying not to react. Claire had left? To New York? Why hadn't she told him? He realized Hoskins was still talking, and he tried to keep his face expressionless while he listened.

"–heard it was Simon's idea," Hoskins was saying. "Suggested that she take a few extra days after the meetings. I guess he thought Claire needed a break. You too, from what I heard. Although that bit was wrong, I guess, considering you're still here."

Even though Owen had kept his gaze mostly focused on his computer, he knew that Barry was watching him. Probably wondering why Owen hadn't brought this up earlier. Except, how could he have, when he hadn't known? What he really didn't get, was why hadn't Claire told him? It stung to know that Hoskins was more aware of her business than Owen was.

"Not the right time to get away," Owen covered for himself, trying to act like Hoskins's information wasn't new. "Can't leave Charlie and Echo. Not with their current behaviour."

The older man quirked an eyebrow. "Who knew that you'd be more dedicated to your work than Claire," Hoskins replied, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You know, she's on a _work_ trip," Owen said, throwing Hoskins earlier words back at him. "I don't know how her doing her job can be seen as somehow not being dedicated to her work." Not wanting to talk about this anymore, especially when he didn't actually know what was going on, he tried to change the subject. "What are you doing here, anyway? Any news?"

"Was coming to check up on your progress," Hoskins answered.

Owen groaned. He'd been sending in his reports, what did Hoskins really think he was going to be able to add that wasn't already in them?

It didn't take long before the conversation started to get heated, as Hoskins pressed for more information and Owen was slowly losing his temper as there were only so many ways to say that there was nothing more to give. Thankfully, Barry was managing to keep a much cooler head, and he jumped in, suggesting to Hoskins that he take him over to the paddock so he could see what they'd been saying for himself.

As Barry ushered Hoskins out of the room, Owen mouthed "thank you" towards him, to which Barry mouthed back, "You owe me." Which, Owen felt, was more than fair. He definitely did.

Once he was alone, instead of turning back to his laptop, he pulled out his phone, immediately calling Claire's cell. As the phone rang, he got up and started pacing the length of the office, unable to sit still. He wasn't sure what he was even going to say when she answered. _If _she answered. He just knew that he needed to hear it from her, that she was gone. And he needed to know why she hadn't told him.

A few rings later, her voicemail picked up and Owen hung up, not wanting to leave a message. He paced back and forth a few more times, debating what to do, before he called her again. And, again, after a few rings, voicemail. Damn.

Opening up his message history with her, he skimmed over their last messages, surprised to realize just how few there had been over the last few weeks, but there was nothing there about a trip. He checked his email, wondering if she'd sent him an email about it, or had passed along an itinerary or something, but there was nothing there either.

Fuck.

He continued to pace the office, trying not to panic, but wondering what to do. He debated calling Zara, because if anyone was guaranteed to have Claire's itinerary, Zara was the one who would, except he didn't want Zara to know that _he_ didn't know. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. _

He still didn't get why she wouldn't have told him. While they maybe weren't talking as much as usual, they still _were_ talking. Just because he wasn't able to go to New York, didn't mean that she couldn't have told him that _she_ was going. He'd been waiting for a couple of weeks now for her to mention Karen and whether she'd booked a trip out there. He probably should've asked, he realized. He should've followed up and asked what her plans were. But, he'd just assumed that she'd tell him. And when she hadn't, he'd assumed that it had fallen through.

Owen knew he should know better. Past experience should've taught him by now that when he and Claire made assumptions about each other they were almost always wrong. That it was always better when they actually _asked_ the other and when they actually talked.

He knew he'd been wrapped up dealing with his raptors. But they'd been a handful. More than a handful, really, considering Hoskins had been breathing down his neck for progress and he had nothing to give.

As he paced, he was struck by the memory of something Claire had said to him recently. _I'm just asking you to consider me as important as your raptors._ The line had stopped him in his tracks when she'd first said it. He hadn't been sure how to respond to it, thinking it was unfair for her to throw that at him. That she _knew_ he valued her.

Owen really did think she was important. And he really did value her. But maybe that wasn't enough. After all, he knew from his own experience, and from training the raptors too, that communication was about much more than words, and that actions often spoke louder. And his actions lately had been pretty shitty, he was realizing. He hadn't been willing to take initiative and actually go to see her, like he knew she'd wanted him to.

Of course, he tried to soothe himself, she hadn't made an effort to come see him either. But he knew that wasn't the same. She couldn't very well come out to Sorna and have a fight with him, if that was what they needed to have. It would be too public. There was nowhere they could have it where they wouldn't be overheard.

But leaving? Without saying anything? Were their lives diverging so much that she didn't feel the need to let him know that she was taking a trip? He could understand her not asking him to go with her. Actually, he was kind of thankful that she _hadn't_ asked him to go, since he didn't want to have to tell her no again. But… he'd have liked to have known that she was going away.

As he stopped in the middle of the room, another thought struck him. It wasn't just that he would've liked to have known, but that he wanted her to _want_ to tell him. He knew, he'd _always _known, that she didn't need him. That she was independent and capable of living and thriving on her own. They both were. It was who they were, at their core. But he'd also always thought that it wasn't just him who was finding life even better now that he didn't have to do that. That life could be — _was _— better to have someone he could turn to, to share his burdens with, to lighten the load.

There had been a few times over the past year he could tell she wasn't completely happy with her job. He knew that she had often been frustrated with how things were moving forward with Simon and with what she'd felt like was a lack of trust she'd had from him over the whole Indoraptors project. But, Owen had thought the research institute had started to turn things around. That she was liking it there again. But what if it hadn't?

If Claire ever chose to leave Jurassic World, what would he do? If he had to choose, once and for all, between his raptors and Claire, who would he choose?

While he'd never seen the movie, he was pretty sure this must be what _Sophie's Choice_ felt like. Although, he knew if he was being honest with himself, the choice wasn't actually all that hard. There really was only one right answer.

With a sigh, he collapsed into his chair, staring down at his phone. He should send her a message. He just wasn't sure what to say. He started a few, erasing each one part way through.

**Hoskins just told me**

**Why didn't you tell me?**

**Heard you're on a trip**

**New York, really?**

Leaning against the back of his chair, he tossed his phone onto his desk and closed his eyes, scrubbing his hands down his face. God, how did things get this bad? Taking a couple of deep breaths, he sat back up and picked up his phone again and tapped out a simple message — **Call me** — and hit send.

He took another deep breath, trying to calm down. When he looked back at his phone he realized his message could be read a few ways. He followed up with an even shorter one.

**Please.**

o-o-o

As she sat in the back of her Uber, Claire stared unseeingly out her window. Normally, she enjoyed watching the city streets stream by, as it was part of what made New York, _New York_. But, she was too busy thinking about Owen's text messages and missed calls. When she'd seen the first message, **Call me**, she'd been immediately worried that something had happened. And she had been ready to do exactly that — to call him — when she'd seen the **Please**, which had stopped her short.

And then, she'd flipped over to scan the other messages that had arrived over the course of her flight, and to recheck her email. But there was nothing in either that was indicative of any sort of emergency or issue. Which meant… which meant that she didn't know what Owen was texting and calling about.

She knew she should just phone him. That she'd find out right away if she did, but considering how awkward all their recent calls had been, she wasn't hopeful that the call would go well. And she didn't want an audience, even if the driver had been ignoring her from the moment she'd gotten in, humming along softly to the music from the radio.

Fifteen minutes later, as she closed the hotel door behind her, she knew she was running out of excuses on why she hadn't phoned him yet. And, that just because others weren't informing her that something had happened, it didn't actually mean that everything was okay. If it was more personal there was a good chance that no one else would know.

Pulling out her phone, she took a deep breath and finally tapped _call_. As the phone rang, she walked over to the floor to ceiling windows, staring out over Central Park.

"_Claire?_" Owen picked up after only a couple of rings, his voice sounding breathless, like he'd raced for the phone.

"Hey," she replied, hesitating a moment before asking, "Um, you wanted me to call?"

"_How's New York?_"

She almost dropped the phone at the question. How did he know…? Swallowing heavily, she tried to pretend that he hadn't caught her off guard as she replied, "Just got to the hotel."

He didn't say anything right away, and Claire frantically tried to think of what she could say or if she should just wait him out. After a couple of moments, he let out a heavy sigh, before saying, "_Why didn't you tell me?_"

For a moment, Claire debated feigning dumb, as if she didn't know what Owen was talking about. But, she couldn't do it. Even with everything happening between them now, she wanted to believe they were beyond that. She knew she'd had plenty of opportunities to let him know that she was going away. In fact, more than once she'd almost told him. What had stopped her each time, was the realization that he never asked. That he never asked how her work was going, outside of inquiring into updates about the missing raptors. That he never asked about the research institute or just her general day-to-day work, or her life. She'd just wanted him to show interest, for once, in what was going on with her.

"You've been busy," she finally answered, not knowing what else to say.

"_We're in a relationship, Claire,_" Owen's voice was no longer calm, now laced with a thread of irritation. "_People in relationships tell each other when they're going away._"

Claire felt her own anger surging at the comment, and she immediately shot back: "Are we? Or are we only in a relationship when it's comfortable for you but the rest of the time I'm supposed to stand back and wait for you to remember I exist?"

She could hear his sharp intake of breath. "_That's not fair._"

"Isn't it, though?"

"_That's not… I've never forgotten about you_," he said, his tone forceful.

"Well, it often doesn't feel like you remember me," she said. "I don't expect to always come first. I know sometimes work needs to. I just want–"

"_You do,_" he interrupted. "_Come first._"

"Really? So I'm here alone because…?"

"_You can't blame that on me,_" Owen said immediately. "_You never even told me you were going_–"

"As if you'd be here if I had," she interjected but he went on.

"–_The only reason I even know is because Hoskins was surprised I wasn't with you. He said that Simon had said that I was going. What I don't get is… why didn't you even invite me?_"

"What would have been the point, Owen? You haven't left Sorna for a single night since Blue was taken. I asked you, _repeatedly_, about taking a break and you told me that you couldn't. You think I wanted to be taking this trip by myself? This isn't how I pictured being in a relationship, you know. I thought that would mean we'd do things together. But, last time I checked, it really hasn't been the two of us for quite a while."

Reaching up, Claire pinched the bridge of her nose, her eyes falling closed. She didn't want to be having this conversation, this _fight_, in the first place. But she wanted even less to be having it over a phone, four thousand miles separating them.

"Do we have to do this now?" she whispered, her shoulders slumping as the fight drained out of her.

"_When are you back?_" he replied, his own voice soft.

"In a week."

"_A week!_"

"I need a break, Owen," she told him. "I've got meetings and then I'm taking a few days."

"_A break from me?_" His question came out haltingly, as if he was afraid to even voice it.

"A break from everything," she tried to clarify. "Everything's just… It's too much, right now. I just need some time for myself."

"_Can I–_" he started, before cutting himself off and then trying again. "_Can we talk, during your break?_"

"I–No," she told him, struggling to keep her own voice calm. "Just give me the week, please. We'll talk when I'm back."

"_Oh_."

His disappointment was more than clear, and Claire reached up, brushing away the tears that were gathering at the corners of her eyes. "Owen, I love you, I really do. I just need this time. Please."

"_Okay_," he finally agreed. "_I love you, too. Do you… I hope you know that._"

"I do," she said, her voice cracking. "I gotta go. We'll talk later."

"_Right,_" he said and for the first time, she could tell that he was out there on the limb with her, feeling just as insecure and anxious over everything. "_A week. Just… Know that you can call me. Anytime. Day or night._"

"I know." Her eyes fell closed again and she reached out, bracing a hand against the window as she felt her whole body deflating. "Bye, Owen."

"Bye."

* * *

_I really did enjoy writing all the angst, but am also looking forward to the next chapter as things start to pick up... Not so far from the end, now. _😢

_Hope everyone survived another week of quarantine healthy and mostly sane._


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

When the elevator door opened and Claire stepped out into the Control Room, there was a louder hum than she was used to. Everyone seemed to be talking in hushed but excited tones to those around them. However, as she walked across the room towards Lowery and Vivian the hum died down, as if they didn't want to be overheard. Feeling self-conscious, Claire wondered what new rumours might be going around about her, and what had triggered them. Zara hadn't said anything earlier, and normally she was quick to inform Claire if she thought they might impact Claire's day.

"What's going on?" Claire asked as she took her usual place behind and between Lowery and Vivian. "What's got everyone reved up?"

"You haven't heard?" Vivian asked, turning to look up at Claire.

"Do I look like I know what's going on?" Claire replied, an eyebrow arched.

"Usually you're the first to know," Lowery commented, and Claire just looked at him pointedly, raising her eyebrows in question. "Right. There's a reddit post that's been going viral. A doctor from… Russia, I think, posted about an animal bite he encountered at his work. Said that he'd seen nothing like it before and was wondering if anyone could help him identify the source."

"Why couldn't whoever got bitten identify it?" Claire asked, although she was worried she already knew the answer.

"The person _did_. Said it was a bear, right?" Lowery looked over at Vivian who nodded her agreement. "Except the doctor doesn't believe that it's a bear. He thinks it's something else."

"What does he think it is?" Claire asked. She was pretty sure she didn't want to know, especially when Lowery and Vivian exchanged another look, the way they always did when something was up. After all, if it was something that got everyone in Control talking, well… As much as she didn't really want to have her suspicions confirmed, she also felt an inkling of hope welling up inside her. If it was a dinosaur, could it be one of the missing ones? Would this be their first lead?

"He's not sure, that's why he posted it. Said he didn't want to bias anyone with his guess," Lowery replied. He turned back to the monitor in front of him, tapping away quickly on his keyboard before pulling up a couple of images.

Claire stepped closer to his side, leaning down so she could look at them more closely. She knew Lowery and Vivian were both watching her, waiting for her reaction. There were two images. Both appeared to be of a male forearm, each capturing a different angle of the bite. However, both clearly showed two rows of puncture holes. The bite didn't appear to be all that big and Claire was pretty sure it was too small to be from Blue. But… she supposed it _could_ be from a dinosaur. Not that she had a lot of experience staring at dinosaur bite wounds.

"People think it's a dinosaur?" she half-asked, half-stated, as she stood back up, her gaze darting between Vivian and Lowery who both nodded. "Why?"

"There's really nothing in Russia that should produce a bite mark like that," Lowery started.

"But it's also the size," Vivian added. "It's too small, but also too… maybe long is the right word, for most of the carnivores in that area. Well, those that don't have fangs. It's definitely not from a cat or a dog."

"What about the vets?" Claire asked. "Have they looked at these?"

"Dr. Holloway said it _could_ be a dinosaur, but that he didn't want to commit from a picture," Vivian said. "And Dr. Holt said it reminded her of, well…" Vivian trailed off and Claire could tell she didn't want to finish what she was about to say. Claire urged her to continue. "She said that it reminded her of some of the marks the baby raptors used to leave on toys and stuff."

"Huh," Claire said, her mind whirling. "Can you forward those images to my email?"

"Sure," Lowery agreed, turning back to his monitor. He glanced at her over his shoulder. "Are you going to show Owen?"

"If there's anyone who would know, it'd be him or Barry," Claire said. "And if it _is_ a raptor, well maybe we'll finally have a lead on what happened to Fern and the others. But," she added, finally turning her attention to the large map of the park, and the actual reason for her visit to Control, "before I do that, is there anything I need to know?"

Thankfully, Lowery and Vivian didn't have much to report and not long later, Claire was back in the elevator on her way to her office. She had pulled out her phone and was staring at the images in her email, flipping back and forth between them. While she'd told them she was going to forward them to Owen, she was now feeling a bit hesitant on doing so. She didn't want to get his hopes up. But, she also knew that she had to. That if they were going to keep working on trying to repair their relationship, she couldn't be hiding something like this from him.

After her trip the previous month, when she'd made it back to the island, it had taken all of her courage to finally phone him. She'd actually been surprised that he'd listened and had left her alone for the rest of her trip. Well, mostly alone. She'd returned from her first full day of meetings to find a colourful bouquet of flowers in her hotel room. There was a small note with them that had simply said, "When you're ready, call me." It hadn't been signed, but it hadn't needed to be. She'd almost texted him right then and there, but she was afraid if she did, that she wouldn't be able to go through with not talking to him for the rest of the trip. Or that he'd take it as an invitation that she actually _did_ want to talk.

And she _did_. She really did. She missed him more than she expected she would. But she also knew that she needed the break. She needed time to sort through how she was feeling. To separate out her concerns and stress about work and the missing dinosaurs and lab samples from her stress over their relationship.

The break had been good.

After her meetings were finished, she'd spent a day at a spa, choosing to pamper herself fully. She'd spent time wandering the streets, ducking into coffee shops and stores that caught her eye. She'd checked out the ice skaters at Rockefeller center and had taken in a Broadway show. She'd shopped, too. Enjoying the chance to actually get to try on the clothes first, instead of having to rely on online shopping as she mostly did from Nublar.

Their first conversation once she was back had started off stilted and awkward and uncomfortable, both of them clearly unsure of their footing and not wanting to say the wrong thing. Eventually, she'd snapped, frustrated with the way Owen was acting, agreeing with everything she said. She didn't want a "yes" man. She didn't want him to compromise who he was for her. They'd never last if he did that. He'd loosened up a bit after, but it was still awkward. Claire knew there was no way around that, not given the topic, and it wasn't helped by the fact that they were having it over the phone and not face-to-face.

It was Owen who had actually suggested that it would be better if they could talk in person. And then, to her surprise, he'd offered to come over to Nublar. He'd been upfront and had said he couldn't come for long, just a single night.

If she had thought their phone calls were awkward, they were minor in comparison to when they first met up again. She was torn between wanting to just throw herself at him, but also feeling like it wasn't her place to do so. He'd looked equally unsure as to how to behave. But once they'd started talking, they hadn't stopped.

Claire had never been one for pulling all-nighters. She had always managed to stay organized enough to rarely need them. There were exceptions, of course, like the night of the Indoraptors incident, where she hadn't really had a choice.

But they'd pulled one that night, neither ready to stop, once they'd got over the initial awkwardness. She'd driven them out to his lot (she still struggled to call it theirs) instead of going back to their condo. The night had started off with both of them sort of metaphorically dancing around the other, each tentatively trying to get closer, before backing away again.

They had both tried to be as open and honest as possible, but it hadn't always been easy. They'd tried to stay focused on what they wanted. On reconfirming that they really did want the same things and that neither actually wanted to walk away. But there had been moments where one or the other had needed to step back and take a break. Moments where the conversation started to get too heated, the emotions still too raw.

The biggest stumbling block continued to be Owen's life on Sorna. It wasn't a situation that made either of them happy, but it was also a situation that they were at a loss as to how to change, and neither thought Owen quitting was a solution. As they had talked it through, Claire had realized that she actually didn't have a problem with the long distance part of their relationship. She completely understood and related to getting caught up in your work and putting in long hours. She'd realized that she didn't need him to be there, physically, every evening for things to be okay. That she could get by with their nightly phone calls and occasional video chats (if the internet held up). But not needing him there every night, didn't mean she was okay with not seeing him for months. She needed it to be more frequent. At least once a month, but preferably more often.

When she'd finally managed to put that into words, she'd been surprised when Owen had agreed. It had been one of many moments where she realized that their communication had been sorely lacking. They were in agreement on a lot more than they had ever realized, both too busy making assumptions and jumping to the worst-case scenario.

By the time the sun had risen the following the morning they were nestled together in the hammock, their voices low and starting to slur from exhaustion.

It had felt bittersweet saying goodbye to him a few hours later at the ferry, although she also thought it was probably good he couldn't stay longer. She knew that there was still a way to go before they got back to where they were. Or, more accurately, where they wanted to be. It was a start, which was important. But considering how many starts it felt like they'd had at this point, she was hesitant to just throw caution to the wind and dive fully back in. Thankfully, Owen seemed to get it, and to feel the same way, and so there had been an unspoken mutual agreement to not rush it.

In the couple of weeks since, she had managed to get over to Sorna for a visit to check in on the lab, and Owen had also come back to Nublar for another night. They were both trying. They just were also both afraid of being hurt, and of hurting the other.

But, progress was progress, as she kept reminding herself. She just really hoped that sending the images to him now wasn't going to be the thing that sent them backwards, sending him spiralling back into his obsession on finding Blue.

Claire tapped the forward button on her email and added Owen's email address. She was about to hit send when she hesitated, and then added Barry to the email as well. She debated about adding Zia, but decided she didn't want to pull in too many others, not yet.

Once it was sent, she closed her email and called Owen. She was still listening as the phone rang as she exited the elevator and started down the hall to her office. She could tell a couple of people were trying to get her attention as she walked, but she stayed focused on her office, and hoped they'd just assume she was already in the middle of an important phone call.

Just as she thought he wasn't going to answer and she'd be stuck leaving a voicemail (and was also thinking how she should've included a message in her email forward) he finally picked up.

"_Hey, Claire, what's up?_" he greeted.

"Hey, I just forwarded an email to you and Barry," she told him, skipping normal pleasantries. "Is he around? Do you have time to take a look now?"

"_Um, sure? What is it? Actually, wait a sec, let me get Barry first._" There was a bit of a scratchy sound for a second while she was pretty sure he'd covered the mic with his hand before she could hear a muffled version of him calling out for Barry. She could also vaguely hear some snarling in the background when Owen uncovered the mic and figured they must be out at the paddock. "_Okay, I'm putting you on speaker, Claire. What do you want us to look at?_"

"I sent you both an email," she repeated as she entered her office, closing the door behind her as she did. "There's a couple of pictures in it. Could you take a look and tell me what animal you think did it?"

"_Did what?_" Barry asked.

"You'll see," Claire just said, walking around her desk to sit down.

"_Whoa,_" Owen exclaimed and she knew they had opened the email. "_Is that what I think it is?_"

"_Merde_," Barry agreed. "_Where's this from? I don't remember anyone getting bit, do you?_"

"_No, no one was bit. I mean, we had scratches and little nips and stuff, but nothing like this. No full on bite marks,_" Owen said. "_Wait, Claire, is this… could this be?_"

"I'm not sure," Claire admitted, knowing that Owen's mind had jumped to the same conclusions she had. "But I'm guessing from your reactions, you both think that's a raptor bite?"

"_I wouldn't stake my reputation on it,_" Owen said after a brief hesitation, "_Not just from these images, anyway, but yeah, I'm pretty sure._"

"_D'accord_," Barry added.

"Damn," Claire replied, swearing lightly. "I was really hoping I was wrong."

"_Where's it from?_" Owen asked, his voice tight.

"Reddit," Claire said, with an inward grimace. "I was just down in Control and apparently someone from Russia posted the picture on Reddit asking for help identifying what animal could've made the bite. Everyone was talking about it."

There was a pause, before Barry spoke up. "_Do we know if it's legit?_"

"You think it could be fake?" Claire asked in surprise.

"_People are pretty good with make up these days,_" Barry replied.

"_And photoshop_," Owen added.

"True," Claire said slowly. "But I think if it was fake, whoever put it out there wouldn't be pretending they didn't know what it was from. They'd probably want people to think it was real, so they'd claim it was a raptor bite from the start."

"_Also true,_" Owen conceded.

"Okay, let's assume it's legitimate," Claire started, thinking aloud. "That it's not a doctored photo and that it is a raptor bite and that it's recent. If we assume that, then this is probably our first solid lead on the robbery."

There was a brief pause on the line.

"_Unless someone else has created raptors_," Barry said. "_Wasn't there a rumour a while back about another theme park?_"

"There was," Claire agreed. "But, nothing ever came from that. I'm not saying it's _impossible_, but I still highly doubt it."

"_I agree_," Owen said. "_Also, look at the size of the bite wound. It tracks for how old Pepper and the others are. The odds that not only has someone else started breeding raptors but that they also have one similarly aged? That seems unlikely. What are you going to do next, Claire? And what can we do?_"

"You two? At the moment, nothing," she said firmly. "I need to do some more research into this. I'll let you know what I find out."

"_Okay, just a sec,_" Owen said. There were some muffled sounds and it sounded like he and Barry were having a quick discussion, but she couldn't quite make out what they were saying. A minute later, Owen's voice came back through the phone again, but it was clearer than before, a sure sign he'd taken her off speaker. "_Hey,_" he said, his voice low.

"Hey," she echoed. "Sorry to ruin your day with this."

"_You didn't ruin it_," he disagreed. "_If it's really a raptor bite, and really from one of ours, well, it also means they're probably alive._" He let out a sigh, and she could picture him running his hand down his face, scrubbing at his jaw. "_I'm trying to tamp down the hope I feel._"

"Same," Claire said. "I really hope this leads to something."

"_Me too._"

There was a long pause as both fell silent, and she knew they were both thinking over the potential impacts of this information. Letting out a groan at the thought of the extra work this was going to bring, Claire propped her elbow on her desk, letting her head fall into her hand. "Ugh, I better go see what I can find out."

"_Call me later?_" Owen asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, I'll let you know what I find," she replied.

"_No, not about that,_" he countered. "_I do want to know, of course, but just… Can you do dinner tonight?_"

"Oh." Claire was glad he couldn't see her and the heat she felt rising in her cheeks over the misunderstanding. "Yeah, sure. Seven?"

"_Sure. I–_" He was cut off by a loud screech that was followed immediately by snarls. "_Sorry_, _I gotta go, they're getting restless._"

"No problem," she said, before reminding him. "Be careful."

"_Always_," he replied, and there was a brief pause where she could hear more raptor snarls. "_Love you, Claire._"

"Love you, too."

o-o-o

"Ah, Eli, I was just looking for you."

Eli paused beside the model of Jurassic Park and turned around to see Ben was wheeling across the floor in his direction.

"Ben, how are you doing today," he greeted the older man.

"I'm fine," Ben dismissed his concerns. "Just getting old. One of the many inevitable parts of life."

"An unfortunate one," Eli replied and Ben nodded his agreement. "What did you want to see me about?" he asked, trying not to eye the elevator at the end of the room.

"Maisie keeps mentioning hearing noises in here," Ben said. "She keeps saying it sounds like something's roaring."

"Sounds like her imagination is finally getting ahead of her," Eli said, forcing out a laugh that didn't quite come out as light and airy as he was hoping, barely suppressing a shiver that ran down his spine. He hoped that Ben didn't notice. "She does have quite an imagination."

"She does, doesn't she?" Ben agreed, a fond smile on his face, his gaze drifting away momentarily. "Just like her mom did."

"I think she's probably hearing things she wants to hear," Eli continued. "I've had to use this old elevator a bit more recently, as I've been trying to do some more work down in the basement. While it's functional, it's been known to let out some old creaks and groans, showing its age. That's probably what she's heard."

Ben nodded along as Eli spoke, and Eli could feel his shoulders relaxing a bit. They still really needed a better solution on how to keep Blue quiet. While she was no longer screeching all day, every day, she was still far from being docile.

"How's that work going?" Ben asked.

Eli spared a quick glance in the direction of the elevator. He'd been hoping to go down and check in on the lab. While he wasn't always sure he'd be able to tell if anything was wrong, it always felt better when he went by. He wanted those working down there to know that they were being checked up on and being watched.

While Henry had vouched for everyone they'd hired — all former employees of his — Eli wasn't quite so trusting. Sure, they were the first ones who had ever successfully stolen from Jurassic World (well, successfully stolen research, that is), but now that they had, and that it had ended up being even easier than he'd expected, he was worried that others would follow suit.

Eli hadn't been surprised when there was no public news of the break-in. He'd expected that InGen and Jurassic World wouldn't want that information to leak out. But he was also aware that now that the research was at the Estate, and now that more people had been brought in to work on it, it would be much easier for the information to spread even farther. He (and Hoskins and Henry) didn't have the same resources — nor did the Estate have the same security — as InGen. They had done their best to set it up such that it would be difficult for any of the new hires to walk away with any of the research, but that didn't mean that one of them wouldn't actually run their mouth to the wrong person, and that word wouldn't get around. They were really relying on getting their own operation fully functional and off the ground before someone else, with more resources, could.

So far, they were succeeding, but it had been difficult. By the time Henry had to go back to work, he had been able to get a couple of batches of eggs incubating. They'd lost a few eggs a week later, when one of the incubators had malfunctioned. They had lost even more in the weeks since, and while Eli knew that Henry had said this was to be expected, it was still concerning, and more than a little frustrating. He had buyers waiting. He needed to be able to deliver.

"It's… going," he finally said. "Always amazing how much clutter still seems to build up when you don't feel like you use an area." He was still surprised that Ben seemed to have bought into his excuse that he was just helping clear out the basement.

"Have you come across any old Jurassic Park stuff?" Ben asked. "I've been thinking a lot about those days, recently." The older man's gaze drifted over to the model of Isla Nublar that Eli was standing next to. "I've been thinking we should invite Ms. Dearing back out for another visit. It'd be nice to get another update on the research institute. And I'm sure she'd be fascinated by any old Jurassic Park documents and artifacts you may find."

"You've been getting the reports I've been sharing, right?" Eli confirmed, his brow furrowing. He didn't want to invite Claire back to the Estate. Not with everything going on now. With his luck, she'd end up coming out the same time Henry was due back, which was hopefully going to be well-timed with the eggs hatching.

"I have," Ben nodded. "I have some questions I'd like to ask her. I know I could send them along or phone her, but it'd be nice to do so in person. Conversations are always so much easier face-to-face, aren't they?" Ben didn't wait for Eli to respond. "Can you reach out, please? See if she could come?"

"Sure, of course," Eli said, smiling tightly. "I'll do so today."

"Thanks," Ben replied.

The sound of footsteps had them both turning towards the south entrance where Iris was hurrying into the room. "It's time for your next dose, Sir," she said as she approached.

"When is it not?" Ben asked rhetorically, but he allowed Iris to turn his wheelchair and start to lead him out of the room. "Eli," he called back, "let me know what she says. And offer up the Estate, she could stay here."

"I will," Eli agreed. He continued to stand in place as he watched them leaving the room, forcing the smile to remain on his face in case either of them looked back, only allowing it to slip once he was completely alone. Finally, once they were out of sight, he headed for the elevator.

It was crazy, he thought, how only half a year ago he would've told anyone and everyone what a great mentor Ben had been and how much he'd learned from him. It no longer felt the case, anymore. Or maybe he was just finally acknowledging that he'd outgrown Ben's knowledge, that the mentee had finally surpassed the mentor.

o-o-o

While it had been a couple of months since the break-in, and while the lab was back fully operational with eggs incubating, and while the few baby dinos that hadn't been taken had continued to grow, the mood on Sorna was still somber. The first few weeks after everything had happened, there at least had been some hope. Hope that there would be a lead and that they'd be able to recover everything, or, at least, get some of the animals back alive. As the weeks had gone by with no news, that hope had faded.

Then, a couple of weeks ago when Claire had forwarded Owen the pictures of the baby raptor bite, Owen had felt his hope rise again, that maybe if they could find the babies, they'd be able to also find Blue. For a brief period of time, it had felt like a real possibility, and he'd started to think that maybe the somber atmosphere would finally go away.

"I still can't believe they're dead," Zia said, breaking the silence, her fork clattering onto her plate.

Neither could Owen.

Claire had broken the news that morning, and it still didn't feel like it had completely sunk in. All four baby raptors — Fern, Pepper, Snow and Sky — had been recovered. But none of them had made it. They had been too late. Weeks too late for some of them. They had been found in an abandoned warehouse in Russia. Whoever had been storing them there (and they still weren't entirely sure who had) had been struggling to keep them alive.

The raptor bodies were going to be shipped back to Nublar and the vets there would attempt to figure out the cause of death. Owen didn't really get the point of that. He was pretty sure it would be a combination of lack of nutrition and the inability of the raptors to adapt to a sudden change in climate. The warehouse had been much colder than they kept the nursery, while also having a much lower humidity. Owen knew that it took a lot of work to keep all the dinosaurs at Jurassic World alive, and the dinosaurs were at least designed to withstand the environment there even if it differed from the climate the original species had once lived in.

"Me either," Owen said, when he realized that Zia was looking at him and Barry, waiting for them to say anything. He let his own fork and knife fall to his plate as he shifted in his chair, leaning back, no longer hungry. "Dammit."

"I hate that I kind of wish we had never found them," Zia said. "I'd prefer to think of them alive somewhere, than know that they're dead."

"_D'accord,_" Barry agreed. "Of course, it was always hard to think of them being treated well, considering how they were taken. Maybe this is for the best."

"The best would've been if they had never been taken," Owen grumbled, and the other two nodded their agreement, falling silent. He watched as they both started eating again. "You know what I actually hate the most?" he said, and they both paused to look over at him. "I hate that as much as I hate all of this, I also don't really care. I was never able to care about Pepper and the others as much as I should've. And while it's sad that they're dead, what I hate more, is that we still have no information on Blue. It doesn't look like she was there. Or the other baby dinosaurs. Does that mean whoever stole everything parcelled it out and sold them off to the highest bidder? And if so… that means Blue could be anywhere. And we're probably never going to find her."

As he'd been talking, his voice had risen and he realized that others were looking over at their table. With another groan of frustration, he pushed his plate aside, resting his elbows on the table and dropping his head into his hands. "This is all just a fucking nightmare."

"It really is," Barry agreed. "And, I get it. I feel the same way. It would've been nice to get the raptors back — alive. But the only one I really want is Blue."

"I don't think you should give up hope," Zia said, and Owen raised his head briefly to look at her. "Just because the baby raptors died, doesn't mean that Blue has. She's older. She's better adapted to the world, having survived for over four years already. She'd also be more able to defend herself, if she needed. The babies would've been solely reliant on whoever had them."

"She will be too, if she's in a cage," Owen mumbled. "I doubt she's running around loose somewhere."

"Right, but if someone has her in a cage, they want her alive," Zia said, being the voice of reason. "They're going to be feeding her."

"Yeah," Owen said, letting out a sigh as he rested his head back in his hands. He just didn't want to think about any of this. They'd been having this discussion for months now, going in circles, and it was not like this time was going to be any different. Them continuing to debate on what may or may not be happening wouldn't change what actually was, or the fact that they still didn't know what that even was.

For not the first time, he wished that he was living back on Nublar. That he wasn't eating dinner in a cafeteria, but was eating in his own home. That it was Claire sitting with him, not his two friends. That, after this, they'd go sit together on the couch, where he'd zone out to some sports replay while she'd tap away at her laptop, finishing off reports or sending emails. And that later, they'd go to bed, and he could fall asleep wrapped around her, or with Claire nestled into his side, her hand resting over his heart, head on his shoulder.

He really needed to get back over there. It definitely wasn't doing him (or their relationship) any good for him to be living on Sorna right now. And it wasn't like he'd made any significant progress with Charlie and Echo over the past couple of months. While they were slightly less difficult than they used to be, they still weren't interested in doing any drills or playing any games. It was time he fully accepted that feeling like he needed to be on Sorna as much as he was, wasn't helping anything.

Shifting to rest his head on his left hand, he used his right to pull out his phone, intent on checking his calendar and asking Claire what would be a good time for him to visit. He was surprised to see that he'd missed a text, especially one from Claire. Frowning, he opened up the app, worried she was going to have more news about the raptors, and not sure he really wanted to know what it was. Instead, there was just a short message.

**Got a call from Eli today. Mr. Lockwood wants me to come visit and update him on the research institute. Will probably go out on the 29th and fly back on the 1st.**

* * *

_I'm sorry. RIP Fern, Pepper, Snow and Sky._

_By the way, did anyone else join the Jurassic Park watch party with Joe Mazzello today? It was a really nice break from everything. I recommend checking it out. It's entertaining enough on its own without the movie. Lots of little tidbits about the making of.  
_


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

In a break from meeting with Mr. Lockwood, Claire found herself wandering through the Library. Her original plan had been to take a walk through the grounds, but it had started raining not long after she'd arrived at the Estate that morning and hadn't let up. She didn't actually have anything against taking a walk in the rain, (she'd had to get used to rain living on Nublar), but she also wasn't properly prepared to go out in it today, her clothes and shoes likely to be ruined. So, instead, she'd decided to go inspect the dioramas that were set up and take a closer look at the model of Nublar.

Claire had been about 11 years old when the original incident had happened at Jurassic Park. She had a vague recollection of rumours about dinosaurs from that time, but she had been too young, and there had been too much of a coverup happening for it to really mean anything to her. However, she had clearer memories of the San Diego incident a few years later. She, like pretty much everyone alive at the time, had been glued to their TV screen watching the footage of the T. rex barreling through the streets and wrecking havoc.

She couldn't say that the San Diego incident had made her want to have anything to do with dinosaurs. To be honest, the whole thing had actually terrified her, the idea of these, well, _monsters_, escaping and running loose through her neighbourhood. The way that nothing seemed capable of stopping them. Up until that point, she'd lived a pretty sheltered life. This was all back before the ubiquitousness of the internet, afterall. Back before news would spread around the world in mere seconds after anything happened, before everyone everywhere was always immediately informed.

While the news about San Diego had persisted for several months, it had been simple enough to ignore and Claire had easily retreated to her sheltered life. Afterall, there was school to attend, tests to study for, and guys to gossip about. She hadn't thought twice about dinosaurs for the rest of high school. It wasn't until an internship opportunity had popped up while she was an undergrad, that she even thought about them again. And even then, she hadn't actually known the job had anything to do with dinosaurs when she'd first applied. The whole job posting had actually been pretty vague, really, but it was through the career center at her college, so she'd trusted that they'd vetted it and it was legit.

The first dinosaurs she'd ever seen (not counting the videos from San Diego) were a couple of Triceratops grazing in the area that had eventually ended up being the golf course. The park jeep driver, she couldn't even remember his name now, had stopped, as Claire and the other interns who'd arrived with her had gaped in astonishment as they stared out at their first real sighting of a dinosaur. The Triceratops hadn't even glanced at them, just continuing to slowly munch their way across the field. Even though Claire had lived around dinosaurs for over a decade now, it still blew her mind that they were no longer an extinct species.

Standing in the Library now, staring up at the Triceratops skull, it felt odd to try to reconcile the idea of this one being millions of years old with the actual living Triceratops she had seen just a couple of days earlier. Pushing aside the memories of her original arrival at Jurassic World, she continued past the skull and over to the model of Isla Nublar.

She was in the process of slowly circling around it, taking in the layout of the park, when an odd sound caught her attention and she paused, standing up from her slightly bent position, her head cocking to the side. A moment later, she was sure she heard the sound again. One that sounded eerily like what she was used to hearing on Nublar, but not anywhere else. Was that a _dinosaur_? Standing still for a minute, Claire listened intently, but the sound didn't repeat.

She must be mistaken, she concluded. After all, why would she be hearing a dinosaur _here_ of all places? It was probably just her mind filling in sounds from home as she stood there surrounded by so many fossils and dioramas of the creatures she was more used to seeing alive, than as figures frozen in time.

Bending over again, she refocused on the various paddocks dotted across the model. Most of them contained toy dinosaurs, indicating what species was designated to go where. One, however, was sitting empty. She wondered what species was missing.

"The Stegosaurus," a small voice answered her, and Claire almost jumped. She hadn't realized she'd spoken her thought aloud. Turning, Claire saw that Maisie, Mr. Lockwood's granddaughter, was now in the room with her, the Stegosaurus in question clutched in her hand. Claire hadn't even heard the girl come in. "I needed her for my adventures today," Maisie added, before reaching across the model, placing the toy back in its home. "But I'm done now."

"Oh," Claire said, not really sure how else to respond. But before she could say anything else, there was another sound that sounded exactly like a dinosaur snarling. She spun in a circle, trying to locate where it came from, before she remembered Maisie's presence. Feeling sheepish, she turned back to the young girl, expecting her to ask Claire what she'd been doing.

"You heard it, too?" Maisie was staring at her, her eyes wide. Claire nodded slowly. "I _told_ grandpa that something's been roaring, but he doesn't believe me. Said it's all in my head." Claire had to stifle a smile at the girl's petulant tone. "I _knew_ it was real."

"Do you know what's making it?" Claire asked, although she wasn't surprised when Maisie quickly shook her head no.

"I think it's coming from the basement," the girl admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. Maisie pointed towards the elevator doors on the other side of the model.

"The basement?" Claire repeated, following Maisie's gaze. She recalled Eli on her first visit to the Estate telling her that the first cloned dinosaurs had been created right below their feet. Could there be dinosaurs still there? No, she immediately dismissed the idea. There's no way they'd have been able to keep a dinosaur alive in the basement these past almost 30 years without anyone knowing. Still, she couldn't help but ask, "Have you gone down and looked?"

There was a pause, and Claire wasn't sure if she'd asked the wrong question or what, before Maisie let out a frustrated sigh. "I _tried_. But the elevator has a code and I don't know what it is. I asked grandpa, but he said I'm not allowed down there."

"Huh," Claire said absently, staring at the elevator.

o-o-o

Lying on his bed, Owen had his hands tucked under his head and his phone resting beside him. He was waiting for Claire to call. She had said earlier that she wasn't sure when she'd get back to her hotel, but that she'd give him a call as soon as she did, unless it was too late. He'd told her to call no matter how late. Getting to talk to her was the highlight of his days, and he didn't want to skip it. Not when everything else still seemed to be a mess. And not with Hoskins now talking about maybe putting an end to IBRIS once and for all.

It wasn't really unexpected, Hoskins comments. Not considering that there'd been absolutely no progress in over two months, and instead it all just felt like a complete backwards slide. Owen had always known that InGen wouldn't be happy to keep paying if nothing improved. But, Echo and Charlie didn't care. And it was not like he could reason with them, tell them that they were on the verge of possibly becoming a park attraction. Although, he didn't really think that would happen. With their current mood, they'd be a terrible attraction. No, the more likely outcome was that they'd both end up being put down. But _that_ was something he didn't want to contemplate at all.

He just needed Claire to phone him so he'd have something to actually distract him. Picking up his phone off the bed, he checked the ringer setting again, confirming that it was on and that he hadn't missed a text or call, before placing it back down beside him. He hoped she'd call soon.

It was just as he was starting to drift off that his phone finally did ring, startling him so badly that his arm swung out, knocking the phone off the bed and halfway across the room. Scrambling up, he dove after it not wanting to miss her call.

"Hello," he said, standing back up and turning around to go back to his bed, only to walk directly into the chair he apparently hadn't pushed back under the table earlier, stubbing his toe. "Fuck!"

"_Owen?_" Claire asked, her voice worried. "_What happened? What's wrong?_"

"Nothing, nothing," he said between gritted teeth. "Just stubbed my toe, that's all. Damn chair leapt right out at me."

"_Right, it's the chair's fault_," Claire said, and he would've been annoyed, but her light laughter that accompanied the comment just made him smile.

"Completely," he agreed, before quickly switching the subject as he lay back down. "So, tell me about your day. How was the Estate? See any ghosts?"

"_Ghosts? Where do you think I went?_"

He could still hear the smile in her voice, and could picture her rolling her eyes at him as she spoke.

"Hey, you're the one who said that was the birthplace of all these dinosaurs. I'm sure plenty died there during all that experimentation. The place must be teeming with dinosaur ghosts," he joked back. He was surprised when she didn't quickly follow up with a quip of her own, and actually didn't say anything. He waited, wondering if something else had caught her attention, but he couldn't hear her moving about or anything. "Everything okay?" Owen finally asked, his concern growing. "You didn't _actually _see a ghost, did you?"

"_No, not a ghost,_" she replied. "_More…_"

"What?" he asked when she trailed off and fell silent again.

"_It's probably nothing. Actually, I'm _sure _it's nothing,_" she said after another long pause. "_Of course, Maisie—_"

"Who's Maisie?" Owen interrupted, trying to recall if Claire had mentioned that name to him before.

"_Lockwood's granddaughter. She lives there, too,_" Claire explained, before starting to ramble. "_I was in the Library when I heard something. I thought it was my imagination. I mean, there I was surrounded by all these dinosaur skeletons and dioramas, it makes sense that my mind would just bring forth the sounds I expect to hear when I see dinosaurs. It's ridiculous to think that they'd be real._"

"You heard dinosaur sounds?" he asked, confused. "Like what kind of dinosaurs? What kind of sounds?"

"_I'm not sure,_" she admitted. "_It wasn't super clear. And, like I said, I thought I was imagining it._"

"But you don't think that anymore?"

"_I do, sort of_," she equivocated. "_Except that Maisie showed up and then I heard it again, and from Maisie's reaction, she did, too. But… just because something _sounds _sort of like a dinosaur, doesn't mean it is. I mean… where would they have gotten a dinosaur? I can't imagine Lockwood okaying keeping one in the basement._"

"You'd need a pretty fortified basement to contain one, too," Owen mused. "I wouldn't think an old Estate would be able to handle that."

"_Well,_" Claire started before pausing again and Owen waited her out. "_Actually, if there's one place outside of Nublar — and Sorna — that is designed to contain dinosaurs, it would be the Estate. It's where they had their first successes with bringing them back, remember?_"

"Huh, well, you're headed back there tomorrow, right?" he asked, and she hummed her agreement. "Can you take a look around again?"

"_I could,_" she said slowly. "_But… like I said, where would they have gotten a dinosaur? There's no way one's just been hanging out in the basement all this time. There's probably a simple explanation to all of this, and it probably doesn't involve an actual dinosaur. Maybe it was simply old pipes, or something._"

"Maybe," Owen agreed as he sat up. He felt too tense to remain lying down now. "It's just…"

"_Just what?_"

He didn't respond at once, slowly exhaling as he gathered his thoughts. "We do still have missing dinosaurs, you know. You said there wasn't any trace of the others where the baby raptors were found. They have to be _somewhere_."

God, Owen could feel hope rising in him, even though he knew the whole idea was stupid to even consider. There was no way the missing dinosaurs would have ended up at the Lockwood Estate. What would be the odds that Claire was invited to the one place stolen dinosaurs were being hidden?

"_Let's pretend it _was _a dino I heard,_" Claire said. "_If it was down in the basement, I'm hearing it through the flooring and who knows what other layers. None of the babies are loud enough to be heard through that._"

"Right, the babies aren't. But Blue's missing, too. And she can be plenty loud when she wants to be." He held his breath, anxious as to how Claire was going to respond to that. He didn't know if he wanted her to call him crazy or to side with him.

"_Owen…_" her tone was cautioning, but he couldn't stop.

"Maybe this is the lead we've been waiting for. And, I mean, it's not like they would be completely random people. Didn't you tell me before that Eli knew about Sorna? It's not that illogical, not really. This could be Blue, Claire," he said. "What if you've found Blue?"

"_Ugh,_" Claire groaned. "_I know this is all insane to even be considering it, but… I just… Did I ever tell you that I saw Hoskins and Eli talking one day?_"

"You what?" Owen was thrown by the sudden shift in the conversation. He felt himself go rigid, his heartbeat spiking instantly. "When? You meant at the opening reception?"

"_No, before then. A few months earlier, I think. I can't quite remember. It was on Main Street. They were just standing off to the side. Looked like they were arguing, actually._"

"What were they talking about?"

"_No idea. I was in a rush to get back to my office, and Hoskins stormed off barely a minute later. He looked pissed off._"

"Do you think that means something?"

"_No, probably not,_" she said. "_Just… the one thing Simon and I keep coming back to with the whole break in — and something that the investigators seem to think is likely too — is that there must have been someone on the inside. Someone who shared details about the layout and what was on Sorna. They were too efficient to be random treasure hunters or environmentalists. They knew what they were doing._"

"Efficient? They pretty much destroyed the lab, didn't they? That doesn't seem efficient."

"_They did,_" she agreed. "_But the thing is, part of why we don't actually have a solid idea of what was taken or not is because of that. It was actually a smart move of them. It's left us somewhat blind as to what's really missing_."

"Wait, how come you've never mentioned the possibility of an inside person before?"

"_The investigators told us to keep it quiet, they didn't want to raise any suspicions._"

"But–" Owen felt sort of offended over the news. He wasn't just _anyone_, after all. He was her boyfriend. Did she think _he_ could've been involved? Before he could push her on it, she was talking again.

"_I would've told you, but… Owen, you already can't stand Hoskins. I didn't want to give you more reasons to doubt his motives. Or _anyone's _motives — you don't really like any of the scientists either. It's not that I don't trust you — _I do — _I just… I thought it'd be better if you didn't know. If there _is _someone involved, they'd know that you and I are dating. You'd have felt on guard at all times, wondering who it may be. And we've never had confirmation that anyone _was _involved. So far, none of the digging has turned anything up._"

Owen turned her comments over in his head for a long moment. He still felt sort of hurt over it all, but he could also understand where she was coming from. He didn't always manage to keep the best reign on his emotions, especially when riled up. But… the topic did remind him of what had happened earlier that day. It was his turn to change the subject. "Hoskins brought up ending IBRIS today."

"_Really? Why?_"

"I've sort of been waiting for him to say something," Owen admitted. "Really, the project's pretty much toast now that there's just Echo and Charlie. I think Hoskins was holding out hope that we'd get Blue or the babies back. But, once Pepper and the others were found, well, it seemed like it was just a matter of time before he brought up ending it."

"_Huh,_" Claire said, drawing out the word.

"You know, if he's involved with the thefts, he could be setting up something else," he offered up, as a new thought crossed his mind. "I know he's always felt constrained by InGen. Getting out from under them? Well, he'd have a lot more freedom if he was the one in control."

"_Except, if that was his plan, you'd think he'd have kept the baby raptors. They're still young enough he could probably have got them a new trainer._"

"Yeah," Owen sighed, his hand raising up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache rising from all the stress that thinking about any of this brought on. Letting out a slow breath, he offered up: "This is a depressing topic. Let's talk about something else, like how you can find out what's in the basement."

o-o-o

After hanging up with Owen the previous night, Claire had laid on the bed in her hotel room trying to convince herself that she _and_ Owen were both being crazy with their theories. And then, when that hadn't worked, she'd tried to sort out how she could find out if anything _was_ going on. After all, it was not like she could just go up to Lockwood or Eli and ask (although she had spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out if it _would_ be possible to do that). And the elevator had a passcode, so she couldn't just happen to use it (nor did she have any idea how she'd even explain what she was doing if she used it and was caught).

She'd never come up with a solution, and had ended up with a restless night, her mind terrorizing her with all sorts of outlandish scenarios. She'd had to double her regular amount of coffee that morning trying to wake up fully and find enough energy to power through a second day of meetings. Claire was really glad she would be heading home tomorrow, even if it may mean not figuring out where the odd sounds were coming from. But… Blue had been missing for over two months now. Surely if she _was_ being kept at the Estate, Lockwood or Maisie or _someone_ would've caught on by now.

There had been a text from Owen when she'd got up reminding her to let him know what she found (as if she wouldn't). She'd simply replied with a thumbs up.

The morning had been busy. When Eli had first suggested she come out, she'd thought she'd stop by the Estate for a couple of hours, and then essentially turn around and fly home. Then, when Eli had actually asked her to plan on staying for a couple of days, she'd wondered how she was going to fill that time. However, it turned out that Lockwood had a _lot_ of questions he wanted to ask. Generally good questions, too, with insightful suggestions on new areas to explore and helpful solutions to current problems.

They probably could've gotten through everything Lockwood wanted to talk about in one day if he was younger. But he needed more frequent breaks to deal with medications, and he also needed a short break after lunch before he was able to continue on. Today, she was looking forward to that break, as it was during that time yesterday that she'd been able to explore the library.

It wasn't until she was being driven up the long driveway to the Estate, her gaze admiring the landscaping, that she was finally able to come up with a plan on how she could do some poking around. Thankfully, the weather was being more cooperative than the previous day, and it was bright and sunny (if a little windy and chilly), and so she decided she'd use the time to explore the grounds just as she had planned yesterday. Perhaps, a walk around the building would provide insight (or access) to the elusive basement.

The morning had felt like it had dragged on forever, and by the time they were finally finishing up lunch, Claire was more than a little bit antsy. After Lockwood excused himself and Maisie went skipping off to play, Eli turned to her, and Claire suddenly worried that _he_ would actually want to meet with her now and she wouldn't get the opportunity for some unaccompanied exploration. However, her fears were unfounded, as Eli admitted he had a business call he needed to take, and asked if she'd be okay for the hour or so, or if she'd like him to have the driver take her back to her hotel for a bit. She'd had to hide her enthusiasm, but she'd quickly waved away his offer, telling him she had hoped to explore the grounds yesterday and since the weather was behaving today, if he didn't mind, she'd do that. He'd accepted her explanation easily, and said he'd come find her as soon as he was finished.

After collecting her jacket, Claire left via the front doors, walking down the wide stone staircase, her gaze sweeping from side to side. At the bottom of the stairs she paused, trying to decide which way to go, before deciding to start off by following the advice that Iris had given her — that she should go around to the left and check out the gardens there. If something was going on, and if anyone happened to be watching her, worried as to what she may see, it would be good to look like she was really doing what she had said.

As Claire started off around the building she checked her phone, finding a few missed messages from Owen wondering if she'd found anything yet. She quickly replied, **No, not yet. But I'm about to walk around the outside. Maybe I'll find a way into the basement from here. **He responded almost immediately with a thumbs up.

The grounds really were beautiful, she thought, as she slowly wandered around the side of the Estate. So much so, that she actually really did get caught up in just enjoying them for a while, forgetting her "mission." Reminding herself of her purpose, she looked around to see where she was to discover that she had circled almost halfway around the Estate. Claire decided to continue her loop as nothing had jumped out to her so far, and so if there was anything to discover from the outside, she hadn't found it yet.

As she continued forward, she made a point to keep an eye on the Estate. If there was outdoor access to the basement, there'd either need to be a staircase _down_, or the ground would need to start sloping downward itself, to allow for a level exit. Just as she had that thought, she turned around another corner of the Estate to find the ground starting to slope downwards. Feeling pleased that she may actually be making progress, she quickened her pace, now eager to see what she might find next.

It wasn't what she was expecting. Although, she wasn't actually sure _what_ she'd been expecting. Just… not another part of the driveway, this one leading up to what looked kind of like the loading bays you'd see at the back of large stores, the type designed for a semi-truck to back up to in order to unload cargo. While it made sense that the Estate would need a garage _somewhere_ on the property (there definitely wasn't anywhere to store vehicles out front where she'd been dropped off), and while she'd expected to come across a multi-bay garage, this sight caught her off guard.

There actually _was_ a multi-bay garage on the far side of the driveway she realized. She could see the black Rolls Royce that had picked her up that morning parked inside. Ignoring it, she focused on the loading bays. There was a short staircase just to the side of the first bay, where the door was wide open. Claire looked around, but she didn't see anyone and so she walked across the driveway to the bay and peered in. At the back she could see large metal doors, but there was no hint as to where it led. Glancing around again, and still not seeing anyone, she climbed up the stairs.

As she walked through the loading bay, towards the metal doors, Claire decided that if anyone asked what she was doing, she'd just say that she needed the bathroom, and was hoping that this would be a shortcut back to the main area of the house. That, and she was going to just walk in confidently like she was meant to be there. People rarely questioned you if you looked like you knew exactly what you were doing.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door and stepped inside. She found herself in a short hallway. Unlike the main part of the Estate, where everything felt like old money, full of rich hardwoods and polished marble, the area she entered looked more like something you'd expect in an old warehouse, constructed primarily of concrete and steel beams. It was well-lit and filled with a hum that she instantly recognized — the sound of people at work, moving about, conversing quietly, as machines chugged along. Claire was trying to place exactly what the area reminded her of as she continued to walk forward when she heard a loud snarl followed immediately by a screech.

This time, without all the distance and flooring between her and what was making the sound, Claire immediately recognized it for what it was. A dinosaur. And not just that, she was actually pretty positive it was a snarl she'd heard numerous times before, both in person, and in the background when she'd talk with Owen. She could feel her heart starting to race, her palms going sweaty as she realized that their outlandish theory just might actually be correct. She may actually have found Blue.

Her steps quickening, she tried to follow the sound. She could see a railing ahead. A she reached the end of the hallway, she found that it spilled out onto a walkway. The railing circled an open inner area, exposing a lower level. Approaching the railing, Claire looked down to find that the area below appeared to be divided into cages, based on the metal bars and gates she could see. Another snarl had her gaze snapping down to the left, where she saw a raptor, was standing by the bars in one of the cages. A raptor who turned her head, maybe hearing Claire's gasp of shock, and looked up at her. A raptor with a very familiar blue stripe running down her neck.

"_Blue,_" Claire whispered.

"Hey, what are you doing down here?" A voice called out suddenly, just as a hand clamped down on her arm, spinning Claire around. She looked up to see a large man glaring down at her. "This area's restricted."

"What's going on?" Another voice chimed in, but this time it was one she recognized — Eli. "Claire? What are you doing here?"

"What am _I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing with Blue? How did you get her? What the hell is going on?" Claire replied, her voice rising in volume as she spoke.

Claire had been so focused on the snarl, and then on Blue when she'd spotted the raptor, that she hadn't actually looked around the level she was on. Now, looking past Eli, she saw that on the outside of the walkway, there were large windows and doors leading into various rooms. Through the windows Claire could see what looked like a replica of the lab on Jurassic World or the one on Sorna. Stopping on one window, she realized she could see eggs nestled in an incubator, a heat lamp shining down on them.

"Wait, are you _breeding_ dinosaurs?" she gasped, incredulous, her gaze swinging back to Eli. "Are you crazy? Is this–"

However, Claire didn't get a chance to finish what she was saying as something large and heavy connected with the back of her head, the world immediately going black.

* * *

And now stuff _really_ gets going. :) Hope you're ready!

On a more somber note, it was really sad to read that Irrfan Khan died yesterday (the 29th). He's the actor who played Masranii — which is only 1 of his 151(!) acting roles on imdb. Whoa!

Finally, as always, I hope you're staying healthy, safe, and sane. And if you're struggling with any of those, and if there's a way I can help, let me know.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

A questioning chirp from below broke Owen out of his thoughts, and he looked over the railing down into the paddock. Charlie was staring up at him, her head tilted to the side in question. If it had been any other day, Owen would've probably focused on the fact that she wasn't snarling and almost looked concerned. Instead, he just stared down at her blankly, wondering what she could possibly want from him.

She chirped again, looking at him and then spinning in a circle slowly, her gaze following the bits of the catwalk she could see from her spot, before coming back to land on him again. He should've been impressed — _really_ impressed — that he understood what she was confused about. Until she'd interrupted him, he'd been doing laps around the perimeter catwalk as a way to burn off energy. He hadn't been thinking about the two raptors below and that they might get curious as to what he was doing, especially since he hadn't even half-heartedly tried to engage with them. Owen had been too focused on his thoughts, while also clutching tightly to his phone, waiting for it to ring or chime or _something. _He'd take anything, at this point. He just wanted a response from Claire.

He'd been waiting for her to give him an update as to what she found at the Estate ever since she'd told him she was going exploring around lunchtime. At first, it had been somewhat easy to ignore the lack of information. After all, it was likely she found nothing and had been sucked back into meetings before she could tell him that. But, it was getting late now. It was almost ten pm on the island, which meant it was after eight for her, and surely she should be back at her hotel room by now, or at least headed that way. From what she'd said, Lockwood didn't seem like someone who would have meetings late into the evening.

So, why hasn't she said anything?

Over dinner, Owen had sent a couple of messages, wondering if maybe her phone was dead. Then, as the night had drawn on, he'd sent more, each one with increasing urgency. He was sure his desperation was starting to show, especially in his last one that had simply said **Call me. I need to know you're okay. Please.**

But she hadn't.

He'd tried to go back to his room, but he'd been unable to even think about lying down on his bed, and as his room was too tiny to pace, he'd eventually ended up out at the raptor paddock, where he'd chosen to lap the catwalk while he waited. He really should've expected that the raptors would wonder what he was doing, especially with it being so late.

Owen leaned on the railing, looking down at Charlie who was still gazing up at him. "I'm sorry, Charlie. Go back to sleep."

Charlie didn't move, continuing to watch him. There was a rustle of leaves, and then Echo appeared, coming to a stop beside her sister and also staring up at him.

"Really girls, I'm fine," he repeated. "Go on, sleep." He waved them off, but instead of leaving, Echo let out her own concerned chirp. Owen sighed, his hands coming up to scrub at his face, before he pushed up and away from the railing. "You're right, I should, too. I'm probably blowing this out of proportion. She'll phone when she gets home. It's not _that_ late there, not yet."

o-o-o

Bolting upright in bed, Owen looked around frantically. He didn't remember falling asleep. Eventually, as the night had worn on, he vaguely remembered taking a break and sitting down. He must have fallen asleep without realizing. But what had woken him? Had Claire finally responded?

He looked around frantically, trying to find his phone, but he couldn't see it. Hadn't he been clutching it? Shouldn't it be on the bed? It took another few precious minutes before Owen thought to look over the sides, and then _under_ the bed when he heard it chirp again, where it must have fallen, his grip relaxing as he slept.

Grabbing it, he eagerly looked at the screen, only for disappointment to race through him. It was just a news alert. Unlocking the phone, he checked his messages, just in case, but there was nothing new from Claire, just his string of texts staring back at him. He opened his email, and again, there was the various clutter that a new day brought, but nothing from Claire. He tried to call her phone again, but this time it didn't even ring, instead going straight to voicemail. What did that mean, he wondered. Had she turned it off?

As Owen was contemplating what to do next, it finally dawned on him that he could hear people moving about, and that his room was no longer full of shadows, but bright as early morning light filtered through his window. A glance at his phone showed that it was not quite 6:30. Of course, early for him meant it was still very early for Claire, but he was finding it impossible to justify to himself that she would just not reply to his messages before going to bed. No, if she'd seen them, she'd at least have said _something_, even if it was just to say she was tired and would say more later.

Something was wrong.

He was _sure_ that something was wrong.

But what could he do? He looked down at the phone in his hand and a single name popped into his head. There was one person he could probably reach out to, one person who may not look at him like he was crazy for being sure that something had happened.

He knew it was early, but he didn't care. He quickly searched his contacts and hit call. And then, he paced the few steps that his room would allow while he listened to his phone ring.

"_Owen?_" Zara answered, her surprise at his call clear, but she sounded fully awake. Of course, she worked with Claire who got up at 5:30 everyday. Zara had probably already been up for a while.

"Have you heard from Claire?" he asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

"_This morning? You know it's only like 4:30 in California, right?_"

"I know. I mean yesterday."

"_I talked with her in the morning,_" Zara replied, "_and we had a short text conversation later._"

"When?" Owen demanded, his voice ringing with urgency.

"_Why?_" she countered.

He had a brief moment of self doubt, but he pushed ahead. "I'm worried," he admitted. "I haven't heard from her since about lunchtime yesterday. I sent a bunch of texts. I called her. Nothing. No messages, no calls, no emails, zip."

"_Huh,_" Zara replied. "_Any reason she'd be avoiding you?_"

"Not that I know of," he said, sinking down to sit on the edge of his bed. "But, that's why I'm calling _you_. You guys are always in contact. When did _you_ last hear from her?"

"_Um,_" she replied slowly, "let me check." Owen got up from his perch, starting to pace again as he waited. This was taking too long. "_Huh, looks like while I sent her emails throughout the afternoon, the last thing I received from her was around 2_."

"So around lunch," he said. "So we both lost contact about the same time."

"_I guess so,_" Zara replied. "_But, Owen, if something happened, I'm sure Mr. Lockwood or Eli or someone would've reached out — she's not alone. What do you think could've happened? It's not like she could've had a random car accident that no one knows about. She didn't rent a car. Lockwood's chauffeur was going to drive her between her hotel and the Estate._"

"Something's wrong," Owen repeated. "Zara, I know it's crazy, but something's wrong. This doesn't make any sense. And she was–" He cut off, not really wanting to bring Zara in on his (and Claire's) crazy theory.

"_She was what?_" Zara asked when he didn't finish. "_If you want me to help, you gotta let me know what's going on_."

"What can you even do?"

"_You'd be surprised_," she said simply. "_Tell me what she was doing._"

Stopping by his window, Owen looked out at Sorna, staring across the field towards the raptor paddock as he pinched the bridge of his nose briefly, before letting out a soft sigh. "Tuesday evening she told me that she thought she heard a dinosaur when she was at the Estate. She sort of brushed it aside at first, but then she said that she wasn't the only one who heard it. That the little girl who lives there–"

"_Maisie,_" Zara supplied.

"Yeah, her. Claire said that Maisie heard it, too. It just… The whole thing had us starting to wonder. I mean, there have been dinosaurs at that Estate before, after all, back when everything first started. Anyway, the last message I got from her was a text yesterday saying she was about to go outside and walk the grounds and see if she could find anything." He paused briefly. "I know it sounds crazy. I mean, dinosaurs, _in California_?" He let out a short, humourless laugh. "But Claire would know what she was hearing. I mean, who better to recognize dinosaur sounds than someone who has lived surrounded by them for a decade?"

There was a long pause when he finished, before Zara asked: "_How would they get a dinosaur? They couldn't have been hiding one all this time, could they?_"

"No, probably not," Owen agreed. "But… we've never located Blue. Or even the other babies that went missing."

"_You think she found Blue,_" Zara stated, and Owen hummed his agreement. "_Wow._"

"I _know_ it sounds crazy–" he started again, but she interrupted him.

"_It doesn't. I mean, okay, yes, it does, sort of. But… we deal with crazy stuff daily. And, you know, I've never really liked Eli. Him turning out to be a bad guy actually sort of makes sense._"

"The fact she isn't replying… Zara, you know this isn't like her. Something's wrong." Turning away from his window, Owen looked around his room briefly, before his gaze landed on the picture frame on his bedside table. Suddenly, he knew what he needed to do. "I need to go there. I need to find her."

"_I could call the police in Orick,_" Zara offered. "_Have them go out and check._"

"They won't find anything," Owen said, as he moved to his closet and pulled down his duffle to start packing. "Think about it. If Eli _is_ involved, then he's probably got some cover story already concocted. He'll just say she left yesterday. He's probably hiding all of this from Lockwood, so Lockwood would back him up, regardless if he actually saw Claire left. No, I've gotta go myself." Glancing at the time, he saw it was still before 7am. "Dammit, the boat doesn't leave for hours."

"_I'll send the helicopter._"

Owen paused in his packing, pulling his phone away from his ear as he stared at it for a moment, before raising it again. "I'm sorry, the helicopter?"

"_I told you that I could help,_" Zara reminded him. Owen could hear her smirk at his surprise. "_I can send the helicopter to pick you up and take you over to the airport. I can even book a flight for you._"

"Really?" Owen couldn't believe his good luck. "You'd do that? For me?"

"_For Claire_," Zara corrected him. "_You're right. This is really abnormal for her. I'm going to phone the police, too. But, you're probably right that they'll laugh at me, and at most just check in at the hotel. Still, it'll take you most of the day to get there. It's worth having them do something._"

"Thanks, Zara," he replied. "I owe you so much."

"_You do,_" she agreed. "_I better go, though, so I can arrange all of this._"

"Wait," he called out, before she could hang up. "I need one more favour."

"_What?_"

"My passport," he groaned. Dammit, he was going to have to stop by Nublar first.

"_I'll get it,_" she told him. "_Just tell me where. Same place Claire keeps hers?_"

"Wait, you have access to our place?" Owen almost dropped the phone. How did he not know that?

"_Sometimes I have to grab stuff for Claire,_" Zara simply replied, as if it was no big deal. "_Like her passport when she needs to head out last minute. So… same place?_"

"Yeah, same place," he said, still feeling stunned.

"_It'll be on the helicopter,_" she promised. "_Expect it in probably an hour or so. I'll send you an update as soon as I sort it all out._"

"Thanks, Zara."

o-o-o

Owen was back to pacing as he waited for the helicopter to arrive. The last hour had disappeared in a hurry. He'd had the fastest shower of his life before getting changed, finishing packing, grabbing food, and then filling in Barry (and Zia, who had been sitting with them). They had both looked a little concerned that he was overreacting, but neither had tried to convince him not to go. Barry had just said he'd take care of the raptors, and Zia had said that she'd help.

Owen had gone by the paddock briefly to say good morning to Echo and Charlie, who had mostly ignored him, and now he was waiting in the open area, constantly scanning the sky.

"What are you doing?"

Owen paused in his pacing, turning around to see Hoskins was standing off to the side, his hands on his hips as he watched Owen with a frown.

"Waiting for my ride," Owen said simply, his gaze immediately going back up to scan the horizon.

"Your… ride?" Hoskins mimicked Owen's actions. "Where are you going? I don't remember you requesting time off."

"Something came up," Owen said, partly because he knew it would piss Hoskins off, but more because he was not about to admit the real real reason to him. After all, if he and Claire were right, if Claire's chance viewing of Hoskins and Eli meant anything, Hoskins may actually be a part of whatever was happening. The thought filled him with a sudden surge of intense fury, and he had to fight back his instinct to demand to know if Hoskins was involved. If he was, Owen didn't want to tip his hand, not until he knew Claire was safe. "An… emergency. Zara's sending a helicopter."

"With Claire? I haven't heard about any emergency," Hoskins replied, his brow furrowing. "You can't just take off, you know."

Finally, Owen could see the helicopter in the distance. He barely spared a glance in Hoskins' direction. "Watch me."

"You're not in control here," Hoskins stated, his voice growing louder. "You can't leave without my permission."

"Well, then give it," Owen replied, before pointing up at the helicopter. "Because I'm about to get on that and leave."

"You leave and I'll fire you," Hoskins threatened.

"Over _what_?" Owen challenged. "Me leaving for an emergency? Zara sent the helicopter. You don't think Masrani knows what's going on? He's a little higher up the ladder than you are."

Okay, so the Masrani part Owen was pretty sure was a lie, but, well, project confidence in what you say, right?

"I–I–" Hoskins stammered, but Owen just turned away, picking up his bag as he watched the helicopter descend.

When it reached the ground, Owen hurried over to it, ducking down against the wind radiating outwards from the rotors. Climbing in, he smiled tightly at the pilot, who simply handed him a pair of headphones. Barely a moment later, they were off, and Owen finally looked out to see that Hoskins was glaring up at them. As the helicopter banked, turning around to head to the mainland, Owen got a glimpse into the raptor paddock, where he could see Barry standing on the catwalk, the two raptors, as usual, frozen in place, as they watched the helicopter leave.

While Owen's main concern was finding Claire, there was a part of him that couldn't suppress the thought that if something was wrong it must mean that Claire had found something. And that maybe, not only would he be finding her, but that he might be about to find Blue, too.

o-o-o

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. _

Claire didn't know what to do. She had been stuck in this damn cell now for what felt like days (although, according to her watch, it hadn't even been twenty-four hours yet). She'd woken up to Blue screeching, which had _not_ paired well with the splitting headache she also had, from whatever, _whoever_ had hit her over the head with.

Blue had continued to screech and Claire had looked out the bars, hoping to see someone, anyone, but there had been no one around. It had taken her a bit, but she'd eventually realized that she had been placed into the cell next to the raptor. When she'd called out Blue's name, the raptor had cut off mid-screech, before sending out a round of hopeful chitters, and Claire had felt the smallest sense of pride that it seemed like maybe Blue recognized her voice.

But, there hadn't been anything Claire could do. She couldn't get out of her cell, and she really didn't actually know what to say to the raptor. And so, after a while, Blue had resumed her screeching, and Claire had just groaned.

A couple of hours later, when she had finally heard someone, Claire had got up from the hay bale she had been sitting on, and had walked over to the bars only to see a vaguely familiar person. She wasn't 100% positive, but she was pretty sure they were a former lab employee from Nublar. What the hell were they doing here? Actually, she realized she knew the answer to that, having seen the lab. The more accurate question was, _how_ the hell had they ended up working here. How had Eli found them?

It hadn't been until hours later, when she had felt like her bladder was going to burst (while also feeling like she was about ready to kill for a drop of water) that Eli had shown up, accompanied by a security guard (one she thought might be the person who had knocked her unconscious earlier). This time, she noticed that the guard was armed, and while they had let her out (only long enough to take her to a bathroom before escorting her back), she been held at gunpoint the entire time (well, minus the three minutes of privacy she got in the bathroom, which, unfortunately, had no windows or other exits).

When she'd asked about food, Eli had eventually scrounged up a granola bar and a bottle of water and tossed it into her cell. It hadn't been enough, but at least it had been something. Claire had tried to get him to talk. Tried to figure out how he'd got mixed up in everything and how Blue had ended up there. She'd been able to tell that he wanted to tell her. That he was bursting to let someone in on his brilliance and to spill everything he'd done, but he'd managed to keep it in, for now. She was certain he would eventually give in and tell her everything.

A while later, she had heard more people moving about, as they seemed to be leaving for the night. She'd tried calling out, but no one had responded and as quickly as the noise had rose, it disappeared, the basement falling silent, as even Blue had given up making any noise.

The night had seemed to stretch on forever. The lights had been dimmed, but not fully extinguished, and all she had was the bale of hay to try and curl up on. As she'd lay there, she'd thought mostly about Owen. About her last message to him, and wondering what he was thinking, considering she was sure he'd be waiting for a follow up and it had been hours. She'd hoped he'd raise an alarm, but the night had dragged on and no cavalry had come bursting through the doors.

Aside from taking a second trip to the bathroom (and getting a second granola bar), Claire had been stuck in her cell all morning. She'd asked Eli what he planned to do with her, but he'd been noncommittal, just vaguely saying that he was sorting it out.

However, about an hour ago, she'd heard him yelling. She hadn't been able to see him, but she thought he must be upstairs, standing near the railing looking down on her level. She'd only been able to hear one side of the conversation, so she assumed he'd been on the phone. "_What the hell? He's on his way? Why didn't you stop him? What am I supposed to do?_"

Claire had felt a brief spark of hope at that, thinking that Eli must be referring to Owen, before a wave of panic had set in: Owen would be walking into a trap. And then, a _second _wave of panic had hit, as she realized that it confirmed her and Owen's conclusion, that Eli had to be working with someone back on Nublar. _Or_, her mind reminded her, someone on _Sorna_. Someone like Hoskins.

o-o-o

Thanks to the helicopter, and Zara working as his travel agent, Owen had made it to San Jose just in time to catch the last direct flight to LAX. From there, he'd had to catch a second plane to a tiny airport in Northern California near an equally tiny town called Eureka, and then rent a car to drive the rest of the way.

By the time he made it to Orick, it was after 7pm and he felt like he was about to burst out of his skin. He'd spent almost nine of the past 12 hours being crammed into various plane seats, feeling trapped, uncomfortable, and worst of all, unable to do anything but wait.

And now that he was there, all he wanted was answers. Starting with _where the hell was Claire_?

He'd been in touch with Zara as much as possible throughout his journey. And in between arranging the helicopter, finding his passport, and sorting out his flights, Zara had phoned the hotel that Claire was staying at. He wasn't quite sure how she'd done it, but she'd managed to convince the person on the night shift to go and check on Claire. The room had been empty, and there was no sign that Claire had been back since housekeeping had gone through early the previous afternoon.

Owen knew that _that_ was what had really convinced Zara that something was wrong. That up until that point, she'd been mostly-convinced, but still somewhat humouring him.

And so, by the time Owen had reached San Jose, Zara had been on the phone with the police. Unlike the hotel's night duty clerk, however, they had been a lot less sympathetic to her pleas, telling her that they weren't about to storm up to the Lockwood Estate at barely seven in the morning just because she hadn't heard from a grown woman in the past 12 hours.

However, seven hours later, when Owen had landed in Los Angeles, Zara had proudly reported that she'd worn the police down, and they'd finally sent someone out, if only to shut her up. Unfortunately, when Zara had followed up, they told her that they'd spoken with Iris and Mr. Lockwood, who both informed them that Claire had said she'd had an emergency and had left shortly after lunch and they hadn't heard from her since. They'd said that both Lockwood and Iris had appeared quite concerned at their presence, but were unable to provide any other assistance.

For a brief moment, Owen wondered if he had everything wrong, but then Zara had added, "_They didn't talk to Eli. And I'm not actually sure that Lockwood _saw _Claire leave, or if he was just told that she'd left. I don't think the police questioned them that thoroughly._" From that, Owen had realized that Zara was even more convinced than he was that Eli was in on whatever must be going on. It had felt good to know that someone was on his side.

Owen's first stop in Orick was the hotel, where Zara had got an extension on Claire's room (she was, after all, supposed to have checked out that morning and been on her way back to the island — and yes, Zara had confirmed that she had never checked in for her flight, another troubling sign). Zara had also informed them that he was coming and on his arrival, he'd been given a key to the room.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected to find when he got there. A clue, maybe. But there wasn't anything obvious. Her suitcase was on the luggage rack, a few items of clothing hanging in the closet, and her toiletries neatly arranged around the sink in the bathroom. As the night clerk had said, the bed was made, and nothing looked out of place.

Owen hadn't stayed long. He left his duffle in the room, before heading back out to his rental car, intent on visiting the Estate and hopefully getting to the bottom of whatever was going on.

It was as he was starting down the large driveway that he started to second guess himself. It was now after eight. He probably should've phoned ahead. While he _knew_ something was wrong, and while he was _100%_ sure it had to do with something going on at the Estate, he also knew that most likely Lockwood really had no clue anything was happening.

Suddenly unsure about what to do, he pulled off to the side of the driveway. What did he really think was going to happen if he went and knocked? They'd probably just repeat the same story they'd told the police, and he'd be no further ahead. And even if he pressed, if he pointed out that Claire had heard a dinosaur, and that Maisie had too, there was no reason for them to believe him. Claire had said that Maisie had raised it before, and it had been dismissed. It was unlikely he was going to be able to convince them that he should be allowed to explore the Estate. Especially not if Eli happened to be who he spoke to. In fact, Owen was pretty sure if he pushed, it was more likely that they'd call the police on _him_.

However, that didn't mean he _couldn't_ look around. It just meant that sometimes it was better to ask for forgiveness instead of asking permission. As it was already after dark, it was the perfect time to try to sneak up on the place. And, based on the timeline of what he thought had happened, Claire had gone missing after she'd gone for a walk outside. Which meant there must be some entrance from the outside to whatever and wherever Eli was hiding.

Feeling confident with his new plan, Owen parked the car well off the road, under some low hanging tree branches. After locking the car, he shoved the keys into his pocket and started forward, sticking to the side of the driveway, and continuing to stay under the cover of the trees. He figured he'd follow the driveway as close as he could, and then move into the trees once he had the Estate in sight to stay hidden. As he tried to walk as silently as possible, Owen realized the one downside to his plan. All he had on him were car keys and his phone. Neither of which would be super helpful if someone caught him.

Why couldn't this have happened on Sorna? Or Nublar? Where at least he'd have access to a gun. And backup.

But, he also knew it wasn't worth dwelling on that. Unless he wanted to wait until tomorrow, there was nothing he could do. He did stop for a minute to try to update Zara on his plan, only to discover that his phone had no signal. Dammit. Well, if he stopped responding to her for long enough, he was pretty sure Zara would panic and probably call the police again.

As he neared the Estate, Owen could see lights on in a few of the upper rooms, but most of the building appeared to be dark except for the outdoor lights that were lit, illuminating the stately building. He stood staring at it for a long moment, debating left or right, before finally heading off to his left. He stayed just within the tree line for a while, before he realized that he needed to get closer to the Estate. He was too far away to see in the windows across the vast grounds, which was not at all helped by the fact that most were dark, and all he could see were reflections of the outdoor lights bouncing off of them.

Owen carefully scanned the building, his gaze lingering on the few windows that were lit up, but he didn't see any movement. Then, taking a deep breath, he sprinted across the yard and over to the closest part of the building. He tucked himself tightly against the wall, and then tried to listen for any new sounds to indicate he'd been detected, although it was hard to hear anything past the blood rush in his ears and the pounding of his own heartbeat.

Once he finally got his breathing back under control and his heart rate had slowed down slightly (he could still feel the adrenaline coursing through him), he started to make his way along the building. It was slow going, as he tried to look in every window, while also trying to stay cognizant of any unusual sounds, and having to sometimes fight with bushes before he could get close enough to peer in.

He'd completed two lengths of wall when he started to think it was a lost cause. That he probably should've waited until morning and then come out and knocked on the door like a normal person. Or even now, that he should go back around to the front and knock, even if it may mean waking people up.

Owen was debating doing just that when he heard something. Quickly flattening himself against the building, his gaze darting side to side, he tried to figure out what had made it. There were a couple of people talking, he realized, but he couldn't quite make out what they were saying, their voices drifting towards him on the wind. Slowly, he continued to creep along the Estate, this time ignoring the windows entirely.

Reaching the edge of the wall, he peaked around the corner and realized he was looking out over what must be the delivery entrance. While there were outdoor lights on the front of the Estate, they had felt much more decorative, equally placed for design as well as security. But here, it felt more utilitarian, the floodlights helping to light up most of the driveway and expose the various garage doors and bays. Scanning the area, Owen saw that there were two people in lab coats, one with a cigarette hanging from his hand, chatting, while sitting on the edge of what looked like a loading bay, their legs dangling over the edge.

Pulling back, he debated what to do. He couldn't really just waltz up to them, but even though he was close, he still couldn't quite make out what they were saying. And, well, while he associated lab coats with scientists, they were also common on doctors and Claire _had_ said that Lockwood wasn't well.

Owen was still considering what to do when he realized he couldn't hear anything anymore, and he carefully peeked back around the corner only to see that the two men had disappeared. Listening intently, he heard the sound of a door closing and he assumed that meant they had both gone back inside.

He'd come there with a purpose, he reminded himself. Claire was likely somewhere in that house. If he wasn't going to go in through the front door, well, then following those two men was probably his best way in. Darting around the corner, he continued to stick close to the building, feeling exposed under the flood lights. When he reached the bay the men had been sitting in, he could see a door at the back, but no sign of either man.

Hoisting himself up, he headed to the door and carefully pulled on the handle, surprised when the door offered no resistance. There was no window in the door, and so he pulled it open a crack, peering in. In front of him was a brightly lit hallway, although it didn't look at all like what he'd been expecting for an Estate. The floor looked to be concrete, and the walls were a utilitarian gray, the overhead lighting made up of simple fluorescent tube lights.

Pulling the door open a bit wider, Owen slipped inside and closed silently behind him before he started to walk down the hallway. He winced when his sneakers squeaked on the floor but he continued forward. He had no idea what he could or would give as an excuse if someone found him, but that was a bridge he'd cross if he had to.

Unfortunately, it turned out that he had to much sooner than he'd expected. He was just reaching the end of the hallway where there was a T intersection, when a person came around the corner, headed straight towards him. There was both no time and nowhere for Owen to even attempt to hide.

"Hey!" The guy shouted upon spotting him. "Who the hell are you?"

"Where's Claire?" was the only thing that Owen could even think of responding with. He didn't get an answer, though. Instead, almost immediately two more guys came around the corner, having been drawn by the first man's shouts. And one of them, from the looks of it, was security. Owen cursed softly, but he stood his ground, repeating his question. "Where's Claire? Just show me where she is!"

"Who?" the first guy finally asked.

"Claire Dearing. She's about yea tall," he lifted his hand to give an approximation, "and has red hair. She's hard to miss."

"What's going on?" A fourth voice joined, but this time Owen actually recognized it and he was unsurprised when Eli Mills rounded the corner, although Eli was clearly surprised to see him.

"You!"

The sight of Eli sent a surge of anger through Owen, and before he even knew what he was doing, he had leapt forward, intent on getting to the man. However, before he could make contact, suddenly his entire body cramped up as he was hit by a taser. The next thing he knew he was withering on the floor, and then someone was pushing their knee into his back and shoving him face down into the concrete.

"Claire!?" he tried to shout her name, but it came out jumbled as he continued to struggle. He kicked out and managed to hit someone, based on the cry of surprise, and he felt the person on his back shift. Taking advantage of the slight change in pressure, Owen pushed up onto his hands and knees, working to dislodge the person completely, before scrambling to his feet and yelling out again, this time successfully. "Claire?!"

Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to hear if she responded, as someone zapped him a second time with the taser. At the same time he was hit, as someone else (another guard?) tackled him from behind. Between the tackle sending him flying forward and his muscles spasming in response to the tase, Owen was unable to control his movements, and he crashed head first into the wall, slumping to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

_So, I've got another language question: Have you heard / used the "yea tall" before? Just me?  
_

_Also, I'm trying to sort out an epilogue for this story and am also bouncing around some other ideas (related and not). I'm not sure what'll come out of it all (but hopefully something). I've got an unrelated "short" (5 chapter) fic that I'm editing at the moment, so that'll get posted at some point (maybe after PUP). Oh, and I managed to write and post a snapshot on the weekend, so check that out if you haven't._

_In the meantime, hope everyone is continuing to take care. The shift towards slow reopening/restarts that is happening here feels almost more nerve wracking than when everything was more on pause. I've got my fingers crossed that we can come out of this safely. _


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

A shout drew Claire from her where she was sitting slumped on the hay bale over to the bars. It was followed quickly by more yells and then what sounded like something heavy hitting the floor. Curious she pressed closer to the bars, trying to see what was happening and where, but she couldn't make out anything, the bars making it too awkward to try to peer up at the floor above.

And then she heard a shout that made her blood run cold: "Claire!"

Owen. What was he doing there? Scratch that, why the hell was he there?

"Owen?" she immediately shouted back. He didn't reply. However, Blue immediately started chittering away, adding to the cacophony of sounds.

Claire strained to hear what was happening but it was difficult to make out anything specific over the sounds coming from Blue. Claire was pretty sure that there were people still talking, but it didn't sound like there was a struggle happening anymore. What did that mean? She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad one.

Staying close to the bars, she called out again. "Owen?"

Except for Blue's continued chirping, there was no reply.

Claire wished she was out there, that she could see what was happening, that she could do something. She wasn't used to having zero control over her life. And it wasn't just the lack of control that bothered her, but that no one was telling her anything. Even when anyone came by, to give her something to eat or to briefly escort her to the bathroom, they refused to say a thing. If that hadn't been worrisome enough, it was the fact that not a single person tried to hide who they were that bothered her the most. No one seemed concerned that she'd be able to identify them.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Blue startled snarling, which was usually a sign that someone was coming. A minute later, Claire could see two of the guards approaching, both dragging a third person between them. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized Owen, his body limp, head hanging.

"Owen?" she gasped, before turning her attention to the guards and demanding, "What did you do to him?"

The guards ignored her.

"God, this guy is heavy," one of them said as they headed for the cell directly across from her. The cell door was already open, and they half-dragged/half-threw Owen through it before shutting the door. One of the guards briefly spoke into the radio clipped to his shirt, and a moment later, there was a loud clang as the gate locked. That was another part of her problem — Claire had spent a fair amount of time trying to fiddle with the lock on her cell door when she'd first woken up trapped, only to later learn that the locks were actually all electronic and were controlled from some master location.

"Packs a hell of a punch," the other guard said, and when he turned away from the cell, Claire could see evidence of a black eye appearing.

"At least you got to tase him," the first one replied as the two started back down the hallway. "Twice."

"Is he okay? Why is he unconscious?" Claire called out after them, but they continued to ignore her.

She knew, from her interactions with the ACU and the vets, that tasers were unlikely to actually knock an animal out. Instead, they just temporarily incompaciated it. She assumed they would probably have the same effect when used on a person. So, why was Owen unconscious? She turned her attention back to him. She could see him slumped on the floor and she attempted to scan him over, as much as she could. On her second pass, she noticed what looked like blood in his hair near his temple.

She was so busy watching Owen — watching his chest rise and fall — that she didn't even notice when Blue started up again, or hear the footsteps of someone approaching, until they spoke up. "Guess your boyfriend thought he could be the big hero sneaking around the grounds. But, Maisie's got a sharp eye, that kid. Came to me, all worried."

Claire pulled her gaze away from Owen to look over at Eli, but she didn't bother to respond to that.

"I guess it's true that love makes people stupid," Eli added.

Before she had even thought it, her hand darted out between the bars and grabbed Eli's tie, pulling him closer to her. "Fuck you," she said calmly, before yanking her hand back, still clutching the tie, smacking him face first into the bars. There was a satisfying crunch, and when she let go, she could see that she'd broken his glasses, the lenses cracked.

"You bitch!" Eli exclaimed, quickly taking a couple steps away from her. Almost immediately Blue started screeching, and Eli backed up a couple more steps. Claire didn't say anything else, just crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at him. Eli's gaze darted briefly between her and Blue before he abruptly spun on his heel and left.

o-o-o

Groaning, Owen awoke to the scratchy feel of rough concrete below his cheek. He could also smell hay and the distinct smell of raptors, and for a moment he was confused, wondering if he had dreamed everything about California and was actually still just on Sorna. He didn't have time to actually contemplate that, as he shifted slightly and his head suddenly felt like it was about to explode, while all his muscles decided to choose the opportunity to remind him that they ached.

Fuck. So much for rescuing Claire.

He paused his motions, wondering if he lay still enough if it would all just go away. Or if he could maybe just pass out again, briefly.

"Owen?"

His name was spoken so softly at first, he wasn't sure he had even heard it.

"Owen?"

When it was repeated, he realized that it wasn't that it was being said softly, it was that the pounding in his skull was making it difficult for him to focus on anything else. Well that, and the fact that when he finally paid attention to the sounds around him, and not just those inside his head, he realized he could also hear a raptor. Claire and Blue, his mind filled in immediately. He groaned again.

"Owen? Please answer me."

The panic in Claire's voice finally jolted him into full wakefulness, and he pushed himself up off the floor into a sitting position, only to have to immediately clutch at his head, feeling like it was about to fall off. He squeezed his eyes shut as the world moved about sickenly, but that just made everything worse, and he had to immediately lean to the side, his stomach heaving. It wasn't until that moment, as his stomach rebelled on him, that he realized how little he'd eaten all day, and that he really had nothing in him to throw up.

"Owen!" Claire's voice was even more worried now, if that was possible, and Blue's chittering had increased in volume as well.

"Just give me a second," he managed to mumble out, still leaning over, his hands braced on the floor beside him. A couple of minutes later, he was finally able to sit up fully, wiping the back of his sleeve across his mouth and wishing he had some mouthwash. Looking around (slowly), he took in where he was. A cell of some kind, with concrete walls on three sides of him. The fourth side was made up of bars. Looking through them, he found himself staring directly at Claire. "Hey," he said hoarsely, raising his hand weakly in a half-hearted wave. He watched as her shoulders slumped in relief almost immediately.

"Thank god you're not dead."

"I'm not so sure about that," he replied, raising a hand to gently touch his head. He found the sore spot almost immediately, right about his left temple, pain pulsing out from it, even though he barely brushed it.

"I think you have a concussion," Claire said, interrupting his musings.

"I think you may be right," Owen replied. A chirp from Blue had him continuing his scan of the area, and he felt a smile wash over his face when he finally laid eyes on the raptor, who was contained in the cell next to Claire. "Blue." Pushing himself slowly to his feet, wobbling slightly, he made his way over to the bars, his gaze still on the raptor. "It's really good to see you, Blue."

Blue sent a long string of chitters in reply.

"What about me?" Claire interrupted, and he turned his gaze back to hers, where she was looking at him with an eyebrow arched.

"I saw you last week," he shrugged, giving her a big grin. A moment later though, his grin slipped away. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She shook off his concern. "They don't seem to know what to do with me, and have mostly left me alone." She looked over to her side, in the direction of Blue, before looking back at him. "I think they're scared of Blue," she told him. "They don't seem to like walking in front of her cage." Blue let out a chirp when Claire mentioned her name, and Owen watched as Claire's gaze looked over in the raptor's direction again. "She's been keeping me company."

Blue followed that with a longer reply, and Owen felt himself relaxing a bit. At least both his girls seemed to be okay, even if they were all currently trapped.

"What are you doing here?" Claire asked, and he focused back on her.

"What do you think I'm doing here? You told me that you thought you'd found Blue!"

"I see," Claire replied, a bit of a grin on her face. "So what you're saying is that you came for your raptor."

"What?" Owen's jaw dropped momentarily, before he finally caught on to the fact that she was teasing. "You stopped answering my texts. I was worried." He glanced meaningfully around him, before meeting her gaze again. "And rightfully so."

"And you showing up here on your own has made things better, how?" she asked. "Wouldn't it have been better to, I don't know, call the police?"

"Zara did that," he said, and Claire looked surprised. "How do you think I managed to get here so fast?" He paused, before his eyes narrowed. "Which reminds me, we need to talk about who has access to our place. Zara has a key?"

"She only uses it for emergencies," Claire dismissed his comment, clearly not deeming it worthy of any further discussion. "She called the police? How come they're not here?"

"They didn't want to believe her that anything was wrong," Owen admitted. "She managed to get them to come out, but Lockwood told them that you left yesterday afternoon. And since you're an adult, and it hasn't been long…"

"He said that I left?" Claire was frowning now.

"I'm guessing he believed whatever Eli told him," Owen supplied. "Unless he's in on this."

"I don't think so," Claire said after a moment of consideration. "No, I think it's just Eli."

"Can't be just him," he said, his gaze darting over to Blue again. "I don't buy that Eli sorted out the whole kidnapping of Blue on his own. Not without help. And we both know who that was."

He looked over at Claire again and they both said the name together: "Hoskins."

"He tried to stop me from leaving," Owen added, thinking back to that morning. "Said I couldn't leave without his permission. Said that he'd fire me."

Claire's jaw dropped. "He what?"

"It was an empty threat," Owen dismissed it. "He doesn't have the authority to fire me, he just likes to think he does. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Zara had already sent the helicopter for me, so I said that Masrani had approved of me leaving."

"Owen…"

"What?"

There was a pause, where he could see that she was considering if she wanted to say what she was thinking, before she sighed softly, shaking her head. "Never mind."

He quirked an eyebrow, curious, but didn't press, instead glancing over at Blue, who had quieted down, but was still standing near the front of her cell, watching him. "I've never liked Hoskins, you know that, but it's still just… I don't know what the word is. I guess you and Masrani were right about an inside man."

"Men, actually. It's not just Hoskins who's involved," Claire said, wincing. "I recognized one of the workers here, and when I questioned Eli, he couldn't help himself but share how they found their employees."

"Who?" Owen asked hesitantly, not sure he wanted to know. It was bad enough already realizing that he'd been working with one traitor. But, he was also trying to think of anyone who had worked on Sorna for a while before quitting or being fired, and he was coming up blank. So who had Claire seen?

"Henry."

"Henry? Dr. Wu?" Owen asked, his eyebrows jumping in surprise and Claire just nodded. He started to shake his head, but stopped quickly when it made the room start to spin, grabbing for the bars to say upright, and instead just swearing.

"Are you okay?" Claire asked, her worry evident in her voice.

"Need to avoid any sudden movements," he brushed it concern off. He was still stuck on Claire's comment about Wu. After all, he was pretty sure he'd seen Wu on Sorna yesterday. How had he gotten here before Owen? "I'm fine. But… Wu's here? You saw him?"

"No, Henry's not here. The person I recognized is someone who used to work in the labs on Nublar. I think he left a year ago or so. Not quite sure, I'm not involved in lab personnel," she explained.

"A scientist? Interesting. I wonder what they're up to here," Owen said, but he didn't wait for Claire's response, instead looking around his cell again, spinning in a slow circle until he was facing her again. "So, how do we get out of here?"

o-o-o

They had talked for a while longer, before Claire had been able to convince Owen that he needed to sit down. His face had been getting paler the longer he remained standing, and even from across the hall she could see that he had started sweating. He'd swayed slightly as he'd back away from the bars, using the wall to stay upright as he'd made his way to the hay bale in his own cell, settling on it, and leaning back against the wall.

Claire's medical skills were limited to the absolute basics. But, even if she had known more about treating concussions, there wasn't much she could do, with the bars and hallway separating them. He'd tried to convince her not to worry, that he just needed to rest for a bit, and that she should too. She told him she'd wake him in a couple of hours, and he'd nodded, before closing his eyes, his shoulders relaxing a bit as he took some deep breaths. She felt unable to pull away from the bars to sit down herself, instead focusing once again the rise and fall of his chest, and letting it's consistent rhythm soothe her.

She wasn't sure how long she watched him for — it could've been ten minutes or it could've been an hour — when the lights flickered. Claire glanced up at the light fixtures, and then around, but everything seemed fine. It had been so brief, and Owen hadn't shifted, that she was starting to wonder if it had even happened, when they flickered a second time.

"What?" Owen's eyes opened as he sat up, looking around groggily.

And then the lights went out completely, plunging the entire space into pitch blackness.

"Owen?" Claire called out as she clutched at the bars in front of her, the world feeling disorienting when she couldn't focus on anything. There were no windows nearby, nothing to supply any light from the outside world.

"I'm here," Owen called back. "Just stay where you are. Don't move." In the cell beside her, Blue was growling low in the back of her throat, and Owen followed up with directions for her. "Blue, stay calm, girl."

It felt like an eternity, but it was probably only a couple of minutes before the lights came back on. Blinking in the sudden brightness, it took Claire a minute before she realized that the bars she was still clutching onto now gave way when she leaned against them. Startled, she briefly let go as she stepped back, looking at them in confusion, only to realize that she'd been holding the bars on the door, and whatever had been done to get the lights back on, seemed to have reset the locks on her cell. She hurriedly pushed it open, rushing into the hallway, as she called for Owen.

"It's open, come on," she told him, making her way across the hall to the door of his cell, and pulling it open. She watched, worriedly, as he gingerly got to his feet, before walking towards her. She waited impatiently for him to exit the cell (she didn't want to go in in case the locks re-engaged). But the moment he was free, she threw her arms around him, his own wrapping back around her, and he sagged against her. She felt her knees buckle slightly at the added weight, before she adjusted her hold on him. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked him, one hand reaching gingerly up towards his forehead where she could see a large lump on his left temple.

"I'm fine," he said, although the way he winced and shied away from her touch belied his words. He did manage to stand up a bit straighter, taking some of his weight off of her, although he kept an arm wrapped around her shoulders. "We gotta get out of here."

"What about…?" Claire asked, suddenly remembering Blue. They turned as one to look at Blue's cell only to discover that the raptor was standing in the hallway behind them, her head cocked to the side as she stared at them. Owen immediately shifted, moving to stand in front of Claire, a hand raised towards the raptor.

"Hey, Blue." He spoke gently, not wanting to rile the raptor up. "How you doing, girl?"

Blue took a step towards them, and Claire reached for Owen, wanting to pull him back, but knowing that she shouldn't. Instead, she clutched at the one arm he hadn't raised, holding onto it like a lifeline.

"Whoa, Blue," Owen warned, his voice becoming a bit firmer, and Claire tightened her grip on him.

"Whoa, the raptor's out!"

The surprised shout, had all three of them — Claire, Owen, Blue — turning their gaze up to the level above, where they could see someone leaning over the railing looking down at them. Blue's eyes narrowed. She let out a loud snarl, her lips pulled back and her teeth bared, and the person jumped back from the railing as though he thought Blue could reach him all the way from the lower level.

But it was too late, the damage was done. Claire found herself flung to the side, as Owen shoved her, the two of them trying to get out of the path of the now charging raptor. Claire stumbled into the bars of the gate, wincing, but pushed the pain aside, as she watched Blue's movements. At the other end of the hallway, she could now see that a couple of the guards had emerged and were pointing guns at Blue.

Blue, however, wasn't dissuaded by the presence of weapons, continuing to rush forward. Both guards fired at her, but it was too late. Blue attacked the first one and tossed him aside, before turning on the second, clamping down on the guy's arm.

There was more shouting, and Claire looked up to see that more people were now looking down from above.

"Blue! Let go, Blue!"

Owen's voice drew Claire's attention away from those above and back to the scene in front of her. Owen was approaching Blue, his hand up, his voice commanding.

"Shoot it!" The guard whose arm Blue still had clutched tightly in her jaw cried out. "Somebody shoot it!"

"No. Don't!" Owen shouted, before his attention went back to his raptor. "Come on, Blue. Work with me here. Drop him!"

Blue's head tilted to the side as she appeared to consider Owen's request. Claire's gaze darted between the raptor, Owen, and the few workers above, who mostly appeared to be lab workers.

The ding of the elevator had Claire spinning around. The doors opened to reveal Eli accompanied by another guard, who immediately lifted his weapon and took aim.

"I've got the shot," the guard accompanying Eli said. "Should I take it?"

"Yes!" The guard who Blue was still holding onto shouted.

"No!" Owen yelled, his gaze darting over his shoulder at those behind him.

"Wait," Eli said, his hand raised, his voice calm. "We need her alive. Shoot her, just don't kill her."

Blue let out an angry growl, and Claire turned back just as Blue finally dropped the guard, who clutched his arm to his chest and scrambled backwards away from the raptor. Blue's gaze was now focused directly on Eli, her head lowering as she crouched down. Claire recognized the stance and knew that the raptor was about to spring forward.

"Don't shoot her!" Owen spun around now, his back to Blue so he was facing off with Eli, his tone pleading. "I've got this."

"If you've got the shot, shoot her!" Eli said, ignoring Owen, looking instead at the guard beside him, who gave a quick nod of acknowledgement. Claire watched as the guard tightened his grip on his gun and fired off a single shot.

She heard Owen shout, but his yell was abruptly cut off and she snapped her head around to look at him, but her gaze got caught on Blue, who was now charging forward, snarling angrily. Claire quickly stepped backwards, pressing her back against the gate, watching as Blue ran past her.

The guard fired twice more in quick succession, and suddenly Blue veered to the side, wobbling precariously, before finally collapsing, hitting the ground with a loud thump.

Claire hadn't realized how much noise Blue had been making until her snarls stopped, and suddenly the basement was way too quiet. It took Claire a moment to be able to start processing sounds again. She could hear people breathing heavily and moans coming from the injured guard. She pulled her gaze away from Blue's prone body, turning around, looking for Owen. Her gaze skipped over him on her first pass, as she was expecting to see him standing. It was only when she took a second pass, not quite comprehending at first why she hadn't seen him, that she realized that he was lying motionless on the floor. She could see a puddle of blood by his shoulder that was steadily increasing in size.

"Owen!" She sprung away from the wall, hurrying towards him, only to trip a few steps later. She caught herself, but when she looked down to see what had tripped her she found a gun lying on the ground. One that must have skidded across the floor earlier when Blue had attacked the first two guards. Claire stooped down and picked it up, acting mostly on instinct.

"Drop the weapon, Claire."

Eli's command was hard, but Claire didn't loosen her grip, standing back up and turning to see that Eli and the guard with him were now focused on her.

"Or what?" she asked, raising the gun and aiming it at them. As she did so, she continued to walk slowly backwards, still intent on getting to Owen. "You'll shoot me? You're not going to get away with this. You know that, right?"

"Actually, I think we'll finish him off first," Eli said, gesturing behind her towards Owen.

Claire spared a quick glance over her shoulder. Owen was still lying in the same prone position, the puddle of blood looking much larger than it had before. Looking back at Eli, she tried to push aside her growing panic. Even though he'd essentially kidnapped her, she was realizing she hadn't actually thought he would kill her. But seeing the absolute lack of concern he had towards Owen, towards his own men, really, considering no one was rushing to help the injured guard either, made it finally sink in. Eli wasn't going to lift a finger to help Owen. Which meant that it was up to her.

She swallowed heavily, and after another quick glance back at Owen, focused her attention on Eli, standing up straighter and aiming the gun directly at him. "You'll have to go through me first."

"Very well," Eli said, turning to the guard beside him.

The guard wavered for a moment, before raising his gun to aim it at Claire. She braced herself, watching as the guard's finger tightened briefly on the trigger, but he didn't pull it.

"What are you waiting for?" Eli demanded when a few seconds later the guard still hadn't fired the shot.

"I…I–" The guard stuttered, looking past Claire towards Owen.

"If you won't shoot her, I will," Eli fumed, turning and attempting to yank the gun away from the man.

Claire watched the struggle uneasily. While she was hopeful that the guard was going to win, she also didn't think struggling over a loaded weapon was a good idea (especially when it was still, somewhat, pointed in her direction).

It was just as Eli managed to pull the gun free and had turned back to Claire, aiming the gun towards her, that the elevator dinged again. The sound drew Claire — and Eli's — attention, and both instinctively looked towards it, watching as the doors started to open.

* * *

_Only two chapters to go! And the epilogue I'm writing that's taken an odd turn (I may have to start over). Can't believe it's almost time to stay goodbye to this series. Thanks so much to everyone who's been on the journey with me so far._

_Stay safe and I'll see you in a week._


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

It felt like the elevator doors were opening in slow motion. Claire had no idea who to expect on the other side. Could there be more guards arriving as backup? Although, as she watched Eli fidgeting, his gaze also locked on the elevator, that didn't seem likely. He seemed as nervous as she was over who was about to appear, and Claire didn't like it, not trusting he wouldn't overreact if he panicked.

The first thing Claire's gaze locked on through the opening was a gun, her vision tunnelling and her heart sinking. She could feel her own hands getting clammy, and she tightened her own grip on the gun she was still clutching, although she had no idea how she and Owen were going to get out of this if Eli had backup. She hadn't been expecting to have to actually _fire _the gun. She'd been hoping that she could just use it as a threat to get Eli and the guard to back off.

"Everybody freeze!"

The shouted words jolted Claire back to the present, and she was surprised to see that the elevator doors were now wide open. There were four police officers standing inside, all of them armed with guns they were aiming at her and Eli.

Relief pooled in her gut, and she immediately loosened her grip, pointing the gun towards the ground. She didn't want to be seen as a threat. Eli didn't seem to have the same concern, the gun he was holding remained pointed in Claire's general direction, although he was still facing towards the police.

"Thank god, you're here." Eli was the first to speak up. "Arrest her, will you?"

"Arrest me?" Claire asked in disbelief, her jaw dropping. "What for? _You're_ the one who kidnapped _me_!"

"She's trespassing," Eli continued, ignoring her outburst. "Look what she did." He gestured behind him.

"Whoa, is that a dinosaur?" One of the officers blurted out, his eyes growing comically wide, and Claire followed the officer's gaze to where Blue was lying on the ground.

She'd forgotten about Blue, and now as she watched the raptor, she wondered if Blue was still alive. When she saw Blue's chest move slightly and her leg twitch, Claire started to relax, until she remembered Owen.

She turned her attention back to the police. "We need EMS," she said, choosing to ignore Eli and his ridiculous claims, and hoping the police would, too. "They shot–Owen's been shot. He's lost a lot of blood." Turning around, she had barely taken a step in Owen's direction when another command rang out.

"Don't move. We need everybody to stay where they are."

Claire froze midstep. "Please," she begged, her gaze focused on Owen. He was looking even paler than when she'd last looked at him. She couldn't tell if the pool of blood near him was still getting bigger. Focusing on his chest, her heart seized when she couldn't immediately detect any breathing, the seconds feeling unbearably long, until there was just the slightest rise. "He needs help. He's _dying_. Please."

She had been so focused on Owen, she didn't realize that the officers had left the elevator, and were now spreading out around the hallway, until she felt someone carefully tugging at the gun she still held. She turned to the guy, easily handing the weapon over, not wanting to touch it any longer. "Can you help him?" she asked, pointing to Owen.

"We're calling in EMS right now," the officer told her, his voice gentle. She focused on his uniform, where she could see the name Jones stitched on a patch. "But first," Jones continued, his voice taking on a more commanding tone, "I need you over by the wall."

Claire numbly followed his directions, realizing now that she was paying attention that there was an officer on his radio calling in for additional backup, EMS and, as the guy looked over at Blue, someone who could deal with large animals. She would have laughed, if the whole situation wasn't so serious. A third officer was ushering Eli and the guard with him also over to the wall, while the fourth was now kneeling down beside Owen.

Briefly, she wondered what had happened with all the scientists who had been looking down from the level above, but there was too much to focus on right in front of her, too much to pay attention to, that the thought disappeared almost as soon as it arrived.

"Can you please put your wrists together?"

She looked in surprise at Jones, who was now holding up a pair of handcuffs.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"Please," Jones repeated, reaching for her arm.

Claire wanted to resist, not sure what was going on; she wanted to break away, and race over to Owen; but she felt incapable of actually acting, feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed by everything happening around her. Numbly, she held out her arms, wrists together.

"Do you have ID on you?" Jones asked, once the handcuffs were in place, and Claire shook her head.

The only thing she'd had on her when Eli and his goons had grabbed her was her phone, which they had taken. Actually, now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure where her purse had ended up. What had Eli done with it? What had he told Lockwood when she wasn't available for their afternoon meeting?

"My name's Claire Dearing," she said, finally finding her voice, and desperately trying to pull all of her self-control back together. "I was out here for meetings with Mr. Lockwood and Eli–" she started, turning and glaring at the other man as she said his name. He was standing a few feet away talking to another officer and paying her no attention.

"Wait, Claire Dearing?" Jones interrupted her, sounding surprised, and she nodded. Jones turned and looked over his shoulder for a second, before waving one of the other officers over, the one who had been chatting into his radio. When the other man neared, Jones told him, "She says she's Claire Dearing."

"_You're_ Claire Dearing?" the new officer asked, his gaze scanning her over from head to toe.

"Um, yes?" Claire said, looking between them, confused and feeling self-conscious from their scrutiny. "Why?"

"We got a call from your assistant earlier today, a Ms. Zara Young," the man replied. "She said you were missing." He looked at his colleague. "Actually, didn't O'Hara and Spencer come out here earlier?"

"Yeah, but they didn't find anything," Jones said, sounding dubious.

"Huh," the one in charge — Rogers, according to his name tag — replied.

"If you get Mr. Lockwood, he can confirm who I am," Claire told them.

"Who's he?" Rogers asked, ignoring her suggestion, as he pointed at Owen.

"Owen Grady," she supplied. "They kidnapped him, too."

"When?" Rogers started to ask, only to be interrupted by Jones.

"Wait, I think that's the name for the rental we passed on our way in," Jones supplied and Rogers nodded, although Claire wasn't quite sure what they were referring to.

Before she could ask, the elevator dinged again, and when it opened, more uniformed people spilled into the area. There were more police, but more importantly (to Claire anyway), there were paramedics, who headed straight for Owen and the other injured guard (although she really didn't care if he got treatment).

The increase in the number of people meant that there was an increase in noise, too, and it made it even more difficult to follow what was going on around her, as she struggled to focus on what anyone was saying.

Claire knew it wasn't good, though, when the paramedics around Owen started working frantically, gesturing for a stretcher to be brought over. Moments later, they had placed him on it, and were wheeling him towards the elevator.

"He's allergic to penicillin," she said, the thought coming out of nowhere, her attention turning back to Jones. "Can you tell them that?"

"Sure," Jones nodded, and she watched as he intercepted the paramedics and spoke with them briefly, before they continued on their way.

Claire looked over to Rogers. "Can I go with him, please?"

"No, not yet," Rogers shook his head. "I'm sorry, we need to sort out what's going on here."

"Can you take the handcuffs off, at least?" she asked, holding out her hands.

Before he could answer, a snarl made everyone in the room freeze, although Claire was probably the least surprised, as she immediately looked over towards Blue. She actually felt a bit relieved to see that Blue was starting to move, no longer quite so still. There was a man near Blue, although he was backing away now that she was apparently starting to wake up. Although, Claire didn't think Blue was actually conscious. She thought Blue was probably still out, as her movements looked more twitchy then controlled and the raptor wasn't attempting to get back on her feet.

"Uh, I think we need to get everyone out of here," the man who had been looking at Blue said, his gaze jumping warily between the raptor and everyone else. Immediately everyone started to panic, rushing towards the elevator.

"Wait," Claire pulled back, when Rogers tried to urge her forward. "Blue needs medical attention. And she needs to be put back in her cage. We can't just leave her loose like this."

"Blue?"

"The raptor." Claire worked hard to not roll her eyes at the officers' ignorance. What did he think she was referring to? "Before she wakes up, you need to get a few people to move her back into her cage. You won't be able to do it once she's fully awake."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Rogers replied, trying to urge Claire forward again.

She was about to ask what he meant, when she saw an officer raising his gun and aiming it towards Blue.

"No!" she shouted, leaping towards Blue, intent on getting between the dinosaur and the gun. Her cuffed hands made it more awkward, but she managed to evade Rogers's grasp. "You can't shoot her. Do you have _any_ idea how much she is worth?"

"Get out of the way," the officer holding the gun said.

"No." Claire stood her ground. "I'm responsible for this dinosaur. You can't just shoot her without my approval."

"_You're_ responsible?" The officer had the audacity to laugh and it just made Claire's hackles rise.

"Yes, as the Operations Manager of Jurassic World, and therefore representative of Blue's owners, one who was _also_ kidnapped, I'm responsible for her. And I intend to be taking her back there, _alive_." A wave of protectiveness towards the raptor surged through Claire. She had never imagined that she'd been standing between a gun and a dinosaur, and that if she was, that she'd be on the side of the _dinosaur._ And yet, here she was. For the first time, she started to really understand what Owen had been going through these past few months.

"Yeah, well as those responsible for keeping everyone in _here_ alive, I don't think that's an option," he replied. "Move out of the way."

"No," she shook her head. "You're overreacting. All you need to do is move her back into the cage, she is harmless while she's unconscious."

"That _dinosaur_ already killed one person and injured another, we're not waiting for it to do so to any others."

"You're wasting time," Claire told him, briefly looking over her shoulder at Blue, who had stopped twitching. "We need to get her into a cell, and we need to get her proper medical attention." She raised her gaze to the floor above, but she couldn't see anyone overlooking the railing anymore. "If you can get me a phone, I can get the head vet from Jurassic World to help out. But you need to find a vet. And you need to get them here, fast."

Claire watched as the officer slowly lowered his gun, before turning his attention to Rogers, waiting for his next instruction.

"You sure she won't attack us?" Rogers asked Claire, looking wearily at the raptor behind her.

Was she sure? No, not at all. "Yes," Claire told them confidently. "But you need to move her _now_."

Rogers still looked uncertain, but he gestured to the officer and the man who had warned everyone that they needed to leave to move back over to Blue, before following after them. Claire held her breath, hoping she wasn't going to turn out wrong, but they were able to half lift/half drag Blue into one of the cells and shut the door. As they looked around for how to lock it, she informed them that the locks were electronic, and Rogers spoke briefly into his radio. A minute later there was a clang as the lock snapped into place as someone elsewhere must have found the control room.

Knowing that Blue was safe (sort of), Claire let herself relax ever so slightly. Blue definitely needed medical attention, a fact that was made more clear now that Claire could see the blood that had been smeared across the floor as they'd moved her. Which, of course reminded her of Owen, and the puddle of blood he'd left behind. The memory made her feel queasy with worry.

"Do you know how Owen is?" she asked, focusing her question at Rogers, who shook his head. She was disappointed, but not surprised, and so she turned back to the one task she might be able to control. "Do you have a phone I can use?"

"In a minute," Rogers told her, as he pointed towards the elevator. "But first, we need to go upstairs. Let's confirm you really _are_ who you say you are."

o-o-o

Pacing the waiting room of the hospital, Claire was desperate for a distraction. No one would tell her anything, even after the police had been the ones who had brought her in, and had informed the staff that she was there for Owen. The nurses had apologized, looking at her with sympathy, but said that Claire would have to wait for Owen to wake up and give his consent before they could release any information, or even just let her into his room.

The whole experience felt like deja vu to when Owen had been injured by Fern and Dr. Graham hadn't wanted her to stay. Owen really needed to stop getting injured. But, since she was pretty sure that wasn't likely, considering he had more than once proved that he would gladly run _into_ danger, they needed to figure out some way around this. She was sick of being sidelined in these moments.

She wished she had her phone. At least if she had it, it'd be a distraction. And not just that, but there was so much to do. Between her worry over Owen and the neverending to-do list that she kept obsessing over (and adding to, in her mind), Claire felt on the verge of a meltdown. It was hard to believe it had only been a couple of hours since the police had first shown up.

Once Rogers had taken her up to the main level of the Estate, they had found Lockwood, Iris and Maisie waiting, along with a couple of other officers. She'd felt bad for Lockwood, who looked like he was about to have a heart attack, when he saw her appear, his gaze focusing on her handcuffs. (The police had taken them off in a hurry, based on his reaction.) Lockwood had apologized profusely, but, as she'd told him, it wasn't his fault. She knew her dismissals wouldn't be enough to push aside the guilt he was feeling, but she hoped it helped. It really _wasn't_ Lockwood's fault. The fault lay squarely on Hoskins, Henry and Eli. But, even thinking that, _knowing_ that, Claire was still curious as to what had tipped the scales for Eli. And Henry, for that matter. Hoskins had always felt like a bit of a bad egg, but she wasn't sure what had convinced the other two to join him.

Maisie, on the other hand, had been _thrilled_ at the news that there was a dinosaur in the basement, and had spent the whole time begging to be allowed to go down and see him. _Her_, Claire had corrected the girl absently. She'd been surprised to see Maisie. The girl had been wearing blue plaid pajama pants and a grey shirt covered in tiny stars and was clutching a stuffed orange sock monkey. Claire hadn't realized how late it was, until she saw that. Not that Maisie was acting like it was late, or that she appeared at all tired. Instead, she resembled more a kid on a sugar high, talking non-stop, and unable to stay still, which was a change from how Claire had seen her before, the girl normally quiet and shy.

Iris had been fretting between Lockwood ("_You need to calm down, sir, this isn't good for your heart._") and Maisie ("_It's way past your bedtime. Of _course, _you're not going to see the dinosaur tonight. You need to sleep._"). Iris had taken a short break from trying to take care of the two of them to ask Claire if she needed anything ("_Can I get you something? Tea? Water?_"), but Claire had declined. She hadn't wanted to do anything that would delay her getting to the hospital.

But, before she'd been able to leave, she had borrowed a phone and had called the Control Room at Jurassic World (she wished she had her own phone, with all her contacts), and had them wake up Dr. Molly Holt. While Claire had been attempting (badly, she knew) to explain to Molly what had happened to Blue, a vet had finally arrived at the Estate and Claire had been more than happy to hand the phone over, letting the two vets speak directly to each other to sort out what kind of help Blue needed. The vet had been ushered down into the basement immediately, taking the phone with her, which had prevented Claire from calling anyone else.

It had taken a while longer before she'd been able to convince Rogers that there really wasn't much more she could do, _right then_. That sure, in the morning, when people were awake, and especially if they could _find her phone_, she'd be able to help a lot. She needed to talk to Simon and the Jurassic World lawyers. She needed to follow up with Molly to see when they'd be able to transport Blue, and then figure out _how_ they were going to do so. She needed to know what the hell had been happening in the lab and then figure out if Jurassic World should be involved there, legally.

Every time she thought about it all, she had new items to add to the list. But, first and foremost, she needed to know if Owen was okay. And to not just _hear_ that he was okay, but see him with her own two eyes.

Rogers had eventually realized that Claire pacing around the Estate wasn't any more useful than if she was allowed to pace around the hospital. And, actually, would probably be less disruptive, considering she'd stopped every time she passed him to ask if he had an update on Owen (he never did). He'd had Jones drive her to the hospital. Jones had stayed just long enough to talk with nurses, letting them know who Claire was, and getting his own update on Owen (which had made Claire scowl, since they had refused to tell _her_ anything). Jones, to his credit, had passed along that Owen was in surgery, and that his prognosis was good.

Still, being _told _that just wasn't enough. She wanted to see him. To see his chest rising and falling, to feel his heart beating beneath her palm, to have him tell her himself that he was fine.

But, in the meantime, she'd have to make do with pacing.

o-o-o

It was very early in the morning when Owen woke for the first time, the anesthetics from his surgery finally wearing off. And it was another hour before the doctors were satisfied with his vitals and allowed Claire in, at which point Owen had already drifted off again. While she'd have preferred to have seen him awake, to have heard his voice, she was grateful that they had let her in at all, and bit her lip to keep from complaining.

Owen was sleeping flat on his back, his shoulder heavily bandaged, and his arm strapped to his chest to keep it immobile. She could see a small butterfly bandage near his hairline, probably where he'd hit his head. In everything that had happened, she'd forgotten about his concussion. God, she hoped that wasn't going to complicate things further.

She hadn't been allowed to stay long before they'd kicked her out, and told her she could visit again when visiting hours started up. That what Owen needed most of all, was rest.

In the drawer in his room, the hospital had put all of Owen's valuables that they'd stripped off of him before surgery. And Claire had searched through it quickly, finding car keys (maybe for the rental that Jones and Rogers had talked about, she'd thought), his wallet, a keycard for her hotel, and, best of all, his phone.

She'd unabashedly swiped some cash from his wallet, the keycard, and his phone. With her own purse and phone still missing, she had no way to contact anyone _or_ to pay for transportation anywhere.

While part of her wanted to wait in the hospital until she was allowed to see Owen again, she also really wanted to change her clothes and have a shower. She had a couple of hours before visiting hours would start up again, and she used them for a quick trip back to the hotel. On her way there she'd gotten a hold of Zara (who must have been sitting beside her phone, considering how fast she'd picked it up, and who told her she'd been calling Claire constantly). It was Zara who mentioned that the keycard was probably for her hotel room that Owen had gained access to, which allowed Claire to skip a potentially embarrassing conversation at the front desk.

Upon entering the hotel room, the first thing she'd spotted was Owen's duffle bag sitting abandoned on the bed. Who would've thought it would take her being essentially kidnapped for the two of them to finally manage to get away together?

She'd had a quick shower and changed clothes, before gathering everything she thought she might need at the hospital, including her laptop and a book.

Visiting hours were just starting up as she walked back into the waiting room on Owen's floor, and she was grateful that no one stopped her as she headed directly for his room. Well, not until she reached the door, only to find that there was a police officer she didn't recognize standing beside it.

"What's going on?" Claire asked, hurrying towards him.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but you can't go in there right now," he said, shifting until he was standing between her and the door.

Claire's stomach dropped, her mind immediately coming up with a thousand worst-case scenarios. She thought about the phone she was clutching, sure it hadn't rung while she'd been away. Then again, considering they hadn't been willing to tell her anything earlier, it was just as possible they wouldn't have tried to contact her if anything happened now.

"Is he okay?" she asked, trying to look around the officer, but he made sure to block the small window in the door.

"He's just giving his statement right now," the officer replied. "If you would please wait in the waiting room." He pointed behind her, back down the hallway.

Claire waffled, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she tried to decide what to do. "Does he need a lawyer?" she finally asked, not really sure where the question came from, but the officer didn't reply, just pointing back down the hallway.

With a huff, she turned and left. So much for rushing back there. After an hour of pacing (and occasionally trying to sit down, but she couldn't stay still), she finally saw the officer (along with a couple of other men) walking down the hall. The officer pointed at her, saying something to the two men, who changed direction to approach her. She stopped, watching them head towards her, wringing her hands. What did they want?

"Ms. Dearing?" one asked, and she just nodded. "Thank you for your patience. Could we take a few minutes of your time and ask you some questions now? Or would you like to come down to the station later?"

"Um," Claire said as her gaze darted down the hall they had come from towards Owen's room.

"Would you like to see him first?" the second officer offered. "He's asleep, but we could wait a couple of minutes."

She nodded mutely, and when they moved aside, she quickly hurried down the hall. Claire had been hoping they were wrong, but when she opened the door to his room, Owen was, indeed, fast asleep. Dammit. She was almost tempted to poke him, to see if she could wake him up, just so she could look into his eyes for a moment, hear his voice, but she knew he needed the sleep. Bending over the bed, she pressed a kiss to his forehead, before whispering: "I love you."

When Claire returned to the waiting area, even though it had been only a few minutes, she found that the police had sorted out an office to borrow so they could speak in private. It went longer than Claire had expected. She'd thought maybe it would be thirty minutes or an hour. But it took almost three hours before there was any indication that they were ready to wrap it up. They had her retrace everything that had happened, from her hearing the suspicious sounds and her conversation with Maisie, to the next day choosing to walk around the grounds to see if she could see anything. There was a lot of "uh huh" and "hmms" from them, but they rarely spoke, usually letting her give her answer fully, before backtracking to ask for more details, or to clarify what she meant.

By the time she was allowed to leave, she was exhausted (and starving). The coffee she'd grabbed on her way into the hospital that morning had not been enough to fuel an interrogation. But, even though she could feel her stomach rumbling, she headed straight for Owen's room, wanting to see him first. He had barely shifted from the position he'd been in earlier, still flat on his back. She watched his chest rise and fall for a few long moments, before a nurse interrupted her, coming in to check his vitals.

"Sorry," Claire shifted, trying to get out of the way. Her stomach growled again, and the nurse looked over at her.

"Why don't you go eat something? It won't help him if you get sick. And he'll still be asleep for a while," the nurse suggested. When Claire looked ready to protest, the nurse added: "You can bring it back here, if you'd like. Won't take you more than ten minutes."

The nurse was right. Eight minutes later, Claire reentered the room with a sandwich, banana, and another coffee to find Owen still fast asleep. After combing her hand through his hair a couple of times, and pressing another kiss to his forehead, she settled into the chair and opened the sandwich.

It wasn't until she had finished her lunch and had worked her way through half her inbox that Owen finally stirred, a low groan escaping him as he shifted. Quickly closing her laptop, she set it aside, turning her focus back to the bed. She'd been sitting on his uninjured side, so she reached out, one hand grabbing his, while her other gently brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"Owen?" she asked softly. She could feel his hand tighten around hers at the sound of her voice, and she called his name again. "Owen? C'mon, open your eyes for me." He groaned again. "Please, Owen."

She watched as he opened his eyes, only to quickly squeeze them shut again, another groan emerging. She waited him out, continuing to run her hand through his hair soothingly, until he was finally able to focus on her.

"Claire," he said groggily, a smile spreading across his face as he stared at her. "You're here."

"Of course, I'm here. Where else would I be?"

He scrunched his face. "Anywhere."

"Well, I'm here," she said. "And _you_ are finally awake."

"I've been awake," he replied, looking confused. "But you haven't been here. There were… cops, I think. And lots of doctors. And nurses. But no sexy ones." He scanned her over almost hopefully at that, looking slightly disappointed with her outfit.

She laughed, although it quickly turned to sobs as her relief at him finally being awake and talking with her overwhelmed her. "I'm sorry," she told him between hiccups. "I have been here, you just haven't been awake for me. And I'm just–"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I get it," Owen replied, pulling his hand out of her grasp and raising it to her face, brushing away her tears. He scanned her over again, as much as he could from his prone position. "Are _you_ okay? Did anyone get you?"

"Me? I'm fine," Claire said. "Not even a scratch."

"Thank god," Owen murmured, his eyes closing briefly as his breath escaped him in a woosh. A moment later they popped open again, and he asked hurriedly: "Blue? Did they shoot her?"

"She's fine," she said, reaching for his hand again. She threaded her fingers through his and tucked them under her chin, leaning on them slightly as she stared down at him. "I promise. She was shot–"

"What? I thought you said she was fine!" Owen tried to pull his hand away.

"She _is_," Claire said. "Let me finish. They brought in a vet, and Molly talked him through examining Blue. No permanent damage done, just some blood loss. Molly debated sending up some blood for a transfusion, but it was decided that it wasn't necessary. Just means Blue will be a bit slower for a few days as she regains her strength. But, considering she's stuck in that cell for at least one more day until we can transport her, it's fine. Molly, though, is coming up to see her, and to accompany her back to the island."

"But Blue's fine?" he repeated, urgently.

"She's fine," Claire nodded. "Seriously, the one we've all been concerned about is _you_. You can't do that, Owen."

He blinked. "Do what?"

"Leap in front of bullets! You're not a superhero. You're not invincible."

"I know," he said. "I just… I wasn't thinking. And they were going to shoot her! I'd have done the same for you, you know." He tried to turn it around, giving her one of his most charming smiles.

Claire bit her lip, before shaking her head at him. "I'd prefer we don't end up in situations where _anyone_ needs to jump in front of bullets."

"Deal," Owen said. He squirmed about for a moment, looking at his bandaged arm, and then following the line to the IV. "Can we go home now?"

"You got out of surgery less than 12 hours ago, Owen!" she exclaimed.

"So?" he shrugged, as much as he could with one shoulder immobile. Although, considering the pained look that immediately crossed his face, Claire was pretty sure he wouldn't be attempting that again anytime soon.

"The doctors said probably a week," she told him, and his face immediately dropped.

"When are you heading back?" He looked away from her as he asked.

"Hey," she moved her hand down to cup his cheek, tilting his head until he was looking back at her. "I'm here as long as you are."

"Really?"

"Really. Not going anywhere." She bent down, giving him a quick kiss. He tried to deepen it, his hand escaping hers and reaching up to thread into her hair, trying to hold her in place. She pulled back, resting her forehead against his. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too."

* * *

And he's okay. :) He had to be, after all, since I promised no breaking up Claire and Owen, and killing one of them would be a pretty permanent breakup. :P

Oh and I finished the epilogue! Yay! So two more weeks of PUP coming at you. :)

As always, stay safe and see you in a week.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

It wasn't until they were walking across the tarmac towards the Jurassic World emblazoned helicopter, that Owen finally allowed himself to believe that everything was over, at last. The week he'd spent in the hospital had been at least five days too many, in his opinion, and only that few because he'd spent the first two drifting in and out of consciousness, never really fully aware when he was awake.

Feeling Claire squeeze his hand, he realized that he'd stopped in his tracks and was just staring at the helicopter.

"I'm just–" he started, before shrugging, unable to find the right words to express what he was feeling and just giving her a weak smile instead.

"Yeah," she replied, nodding, and from the look she shared with him, he knew she understood. "C'mon. The sooner we get on, the sooner we'll be home."

"Home," Owen repeated, starting forward again. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too," Claire nodded enthusiastically. "No more hospitals, please."

"Hey, what do _you_ have to complain about?" he argued. "You weren't the one practically tied to the bed."

"Yeah, well if you had stopped trying to escape, no one would have felt the need to do so," she laughed, gesturing for him to climb into the helicopter ahead of her.

"I never get why they think you'll heal faster in an environment where they're poking at you all hours of the day and night, and then sounding concerned that you're tired and say you aren't sleeping well. Who _can_ sleep well when you're constantly being woken up?"

"Well, tonight you'll be back in your own bed," Claire reminded him, as she settled into her seat, accepting the two sets of headphones that the pilot passed back.

Owen was still struggling with his seatbelt after she'd put hers on, and he frowned at her when she pushed his hands away, quickly buckling it for him.

"You're supposed to keep that arm immobile, remember?" she said, passing over the headphones.

Owen struggled with getting them on, but he glared at Claire when she tried to help, and she backed off and raised her hands.

"I can do it myself," he told her as he continued to fumble with them, hating that his tone came out petulant, and that he knew he sounded like a toddler.

Eventually, he did get the headphones on, and he leaned back in his seat, shifting around, trying to get comfortable, which wasn't easy as his shoulder was throbbing.

"Here."

He looked over at Claire to see she was holding out a couple of pills and a bottle of water.

"It's not the ones that make you feel drowsy, I promise," she told him when he didn't take them right away. "Take them, Owen. You'll feel better — and probably be in a better mood — if you're not in pain."

Grumbling, he did as instructed, popping the pills into his mouth before he used the bottle of water to wash them down. After handing the bottle back, he leaned back again, closing his eyes. He felt Claire's hand reach for his and he turned his over, threading their fingers together, before pulling their hands up and pressing a kiss to the back of hers. His eyes opened again, when he felt her lean into him, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"Rest," she told him, "I'll wake you when we get there."

He didn't actually think he'd be able to sleep, but he knew he was still overestimating how well he was and that his body still needed time to heal. When Claire woke him up an hour later, he yawned and instinctively started to stretch, before his shoulder reminded him that it was a _bad idea_, and instead he winced.

Blinking his eyes, he turned his gaze out the window, before doing a double take at the island they were approaching. That was definitely not Nublar. He looked over at Claire, not quite sure he could believe what he was seeing.

"I know you," she told him, shrugging slightly. "You won't be able to fully rest until you see Blue again with your own eyes."

"You're amazing, did you know that?" he told her, ducking his head down to give her a quick kiss, before he turned and stared out the window again, his eyes locking on the raptor paddock, although it was still too far away for him to make out anything.

Soon, the helicopter was flying over the island, and he felt a shiver run up his spine when he saw the three raptors standing frozen in their paddock, their eyes tracking the helicopter's movements across the sky.

Landing seemed to take forever, and getting unbuckled and out of the helicopter even longer. But then he was back standing on Sorna. He breathed deeply, glad to be back to fresh island air and far from the constant smell of antiseptics and death.

He looked around for Claire, suddenly realizing she wasn't at his side anymore, and turned around to see she was saying something to the pilot. He was about to retrace his steps back to her, when he heard his name called out.

Turning back around, he saw Barry and Zia approaching, and he hurried over to them.

"It's so good to see you," Barry said, clapping him on the back.

"Thank god you're not dead," Zia exclaimed as she gave him a hug and Owen tried not to wince, reaching his one good arm around her to hug back.

"Still very much alive," he told them.

"I can't believe they shot you," Zia said, stepping back. "Idiots."

"I can't believe they shot Blue," Owen replied, his gaze darting past the two towards the raptor paddock.

"Well, no long term harm there," Zia reassured him, following his gaze. "Everything's healing nicely."

"How are Echo and Charlie?" Owen asked.

"Happy to have their sister back," Barry replied. "I don't know who was more surprised — Blue when she woke up back in the paddock, or Charlie and Echo when they first saw her."

Owen nodded absently. Barry had sent along a video of that reunion, and Owen had watched it more times than he could count. "They're all doing well now? Really? No more fighting?"

Because of Blue's injury and because of how long she'd been away (and they didn't know what she could've been exposed to), Barry and Molly and Zia had decided to initially keep her separated from Charlie and Echo. That's and they also hadn't been sure how the reunion would go.

They'd initially placed Blue in the smaller half of the paddock. But, even with the gate closed, the three raptors had been able to see and somewhat interact with each other, allowing them to start to get used to the others' presence again.

It was only yesterday that they had opened the gate, allowing the raptors to mingle. It hadn't gone well, Echo and Blue almost immediately getting into a fight. Charlie's loyalty had appeared divided, but she'd mostly sided with Echo. Owen knew that Barry and Zia had debated separating them again, but from his peek into the paddock from the helicopter, they appeared to all still be together.

"Really," Zia nodded.

"_Absolument_," Barry agreed. "Yesterday was a bit rough, but it got better as the day went on. And aside from the occasional small skirmish, today's been mostly action free. C'mon and come say hi. I know they'll all be delighted to see you. They keep looking around each time I show up, like they're waiting for you to appear."

Owen wasn't quite sure if Barry was just humouring him, but he didn't care. He eagerly set off in the direction of the paddock the other two at his side. They had only made it a few steps away, when he felt Claire's presence. He slowed his gait slightly, waiting for her to catch up, reaching for her hand as soon as she neared.

"Everything okay?" he asked softly, unsure what she'd been delayed by.

"Perfect," she told him. "Was just letting the pilot know we'd probably be here for a few hours."

"So, Claire," Barry interrupted. "I'm surprised you're still willing to hang around with this oaf after dealing with him in the hospital for a week."

"He is good at trying one's patience, isn't he?" Claire joked back, and while Owen wanted to be offended, what he actually was, was just relieved to see that Claire looked like _she_ was finally relaxing. He knew that the past week hadn't been any easier on her than it had been for him, even if she hadn't been confined to a hospital bed.

"I don't remember you complaining," he said with a grin.

"That's because I saved it for when you slept," Claire shot back, a grin of her own on her face.

He was about to reply, but then he heard the raptors. He wasn't sure what had got their attention. Maybe they'd been waiting since the helicopter had landed. Or maybe they could smell him. But as they approached the outside gate, Owen could see them crowded together by the inner gate, all of them chittering excitedly, their gazes occasionally darting to each other before they looked back out at him.

Owen could tell his own grin was almost splitting his face in half. He dropped Claire's hand, moving immediately to the control panel, letting himself into the holding area and heading towards his girls. He vaguely heard Claire calling out from behind him, "Be careful, Owen."

He stopped a couple of feet back from the inner gate. As much as he wished he could just go up and, well, _hug_ them, he also didn't have a death wish. And while he did trust them, his trust had limits, and he knew that they weren't always aware of how deadly their claws were even when they didn't mean any harm.

"Hi Blue, Echo, Charlie," he greeted them, his gaze travelling slowly from one to the next. They quieted as he spoke, although each one gave a chirp in greeting as he said their name. "I'm so happy to see all of you." He continued talking to them softly, as they occasionally interrupted him with chirps and chitters of their own.

When Blue started nosing at the gate, trying to push her snout through, Owen took a step closer, reaching out with his good hand, and rubbing it gently. Charlie and Echo, of course, immediately copied Blue's lead, and he spent some time cycling between the three of them.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there, interacting with them, before he heard the gate behind him opening again, and then Claire's voice as she approached him, although not getting as close to the inner gate as he was.

"How do they look?" she asked.

"Healthy," he told her, glancing over his shoulder at her, the smile still stretched across his face.

"Here, Barry thought you might want these."

He turned around to see she was holding a bucket of rats, her arm stretched out to keep them as far away from her as possible, her nose wrinkled.

"Thanks," he took the bucket, turning back to the raptors and doling out the treats, which they happily gobbled down.

Once the bucket was empty, the raptors slowly started to drift away from the gate, satisfied with their snack and the visit from their alpha. Owen stood there watching them, but when it became clear to the raptors that he wasn't going to call them back (nor did he have anymore treats), they wandered further away, before disappearing into the jungle within. He stared into the paddock for another minute, before turning away.

"You okay?" Claire asked, as he looked towards her. Over her shoulder he could see that Barry and Zia were still there, but had remained on the outside of the holding pen, giving him (and now Claire) some privacy.

"Yeah," he glanced back over his shoulder into the paddock, but the raptors remained out of sight. "Still can't really believe we got her back."

"Me either," Claire admitted.

Owen stepped closer to her, reaching for her, his hand lifting towards her cheek, only for Claire to dodge backwards, away from him.

"Ugh, no way Owen, you were just touching dead rats!" she said, shaking her head with disgust. He pretended to lunge towards her, and she squealed, backing up further. "Let's go find you a sink," she told him, heading for the gate and Owen stepped back to briefly grab the bucket he'd left lying on the ground before following her out of the holding pen.

"Are you able to stick around for a bit longer?" Zia asked, as the four of them walked across the field in the direction of the helicopter.

Owen was once again holding Claire's hand (he'd returned the bucket to the shed and washed his hands there), and he turned to her, puzzled and not sure what her plan was.

"Yeah, we can stay a bit longer," Claire said after a glance at her watch. "Why don't we go sit somewhere we can talk?"

o-o-o

They ended up going to Owen and Barry's office, after briefly debating the cafeteria and the lounges. But, they had seen a few other people glancing their way, and Claire knew that Owen didn't want to be the center of attention, nor did he want to have to answer a bunch of questions about what happened, especially not today. She'd suggested that they go somewhere more private, and Barry had been the one who mentioned their office.

But, as they entered the office, and as Owen and Barry both headed for the chairs behind their desk, it became clear there was something else they hadn't thought about — there were only two chairs.

Claire cleared her throat pointedly and the two guys looked up from their seats, only then cluing into the problem.

"Oh, right, chairs," Owen said, his gaze darting about the room, as if he was going to find one hidden somewhere. His expression turned sheepish. "Sorry, we've never needed more than two."

"More like we never _wanted_ more than two," Barry clarified with a chuckle. Both Claire and Zia looked at him questiongly at that, and he added. "Only person who usually visited us here was Hoskins, and we didn't want him to get comfortable."

Claire couldn't help smiling a little at that.

"Well, at least he's not an issue anymore," Zia replied, before turning to look at Owen, her eyes growing wide. "Oh man, it's too bad you weren't here. You would've _loved_ it."

"What happened?" Owen asked, leaning forward in his seat.

"Wait, Hoskins had an office, right?" Claire half-asked, half-stated, getting a nod from all three. "Let's grab _his _chair."

"On it," Barry said, hopping up and disappearing out the door, quickly returning with the chair (the building really wasn't all that big).

"You take it," Claire told Zia, waving the younger woman towards the proffered seat.

Zia hesitated, but then sat down. Claire moved around Owen's desk, coming to a stop beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder. Ever since she'd finally made it to the hospital, and then had finally been allowed in to see him, she'd found herself constantly reaching for him, wanting, _needing_, the contact as reassurance he was still alive.

"You can share with me," Owen offered, patting his lap.

"No, you're injured," she told him, pushing down on his good shoulder when he moved to stand. "Stay there. I'm fine." She let her arm slip around his shoulder as she perched on the arm of his chair instead. His good hand rose to rest on her knee, and she lay her other hand on top of his, squeezing it lightly, offering him a warm smile when he looked up at her.

"Are you sure?" Barry asked, and Claire saw he was still standing, offering her his chair.

"Sit, it's fine," she waved him off, gesturing him back to his desk. "Now, Hoskins?" She brought the topic back around, hoping to distract everyone and also curious as to what had happened. While she'd heard lots from her conversations with Lowery and Zara over the last few days as to what had been happening on Nublar, she hadn't heard any of the first hand stories from Sorna.

"They put him in handcuffs," Zia said excitedly. "Essentially perp walked him right across the field to the helicopter!"

"Really?" Owen asked, equally hopeful and disappointed. "Man, I wish I'd been here for that."

"And not just him," Barry added. "Dr. Wu was escorted out the same way."

"Also in _cuffs_," Zia said with glee. "It was great."

"Who would've expected that _those two_ would get along enough to work together?" Barry mused. "I don't think I'd ever seen them interact before."

"We have," Claire said, nodding towards Owen. "Still, can't really believe what they were able to pull off."

"The idea guy, the maker, and the seller," Owen said, slowly. "I'd've called one the mastermind, but I don't know who would get that title, and they'd probably all think it'd apply to them."

"What's going to happen to them now?" Zia asked.

"Well," Claire answered, "it's still up in the air. The lawyers are still figuring out exactly what they can be charged with." She held up a hand, ticking off the violations she knew were being considered. "We know they'll be charged with illegal trafficking of a wild animal, for having Blue in their possession. And that'll be expanded to the rest of the animals they took, once we can prove it was them. Then there will be charges for kidnapping, for assault with a deadly weapon, for illegal experimentation on animals, for attempted murder…"

She could feel Owen tensing as she spoke, and she pulled her arm back slightly until her hand rested on the back of his neck, massaging the muscles there. They'd had a couple of conversations over the past week as to what would be the fallout, but she hadn't fully clued him in. Partly because she didn't want to stress him out more than he already was (he needed to rest so he could heal), and partly because it was all so overwhelming, and that getting to _not_ talk about it when she was with him felt like one of her few breaks from all the chaos.

Barry let out a low whistle, startling Claire out of her thoughts. She looked over at him, to see he was shaking his head slightly in disbelief, before her gaze darted over to Zia, who also looked stunned.

"That's… a lot," Zia said.

"And that's just the starting point," Claire said. "There's still a lot of evidence to collect, and information to sift through. The lawyers are pretty sure there'll be more charges."

"I still think Hoskins is getting off easy," Owen said. "I kind of wish Delta had finished the job when she got the chance. Why couldn't he have accidentally fallen into the raptor paddock?"

"Owen!" Claire admonished, but there wasn't any real might behind her words. She kind of felt the same way, honestly.

"Hey, you're thinking the same thing," he called her out, looking up at her with a grin. "Just because you like to pretend to follow all the rules–"

"I don't pretend!" she interjected. "Unlike you, I happen to think most rules are in place for a good reason."

"Yeah, yeah," Owen's hand patted her knee, before he turned back to the others. "Did you guys get pictures? Of Wu and Hoskins leaving?"

"_Non_," Barry shook his head. "I was with the raptors, so I just caught a glimpse of it myself. Didn't have my phone."

"It happened really fast," Zia replied. "I don't think any of us were expecting it. But, security might have something. Was probably caught on some of the feeds." She paused, looking contemplative for a moment. "What I don't get, is what happened to the other dinosaurs that were taken? Were they sold like Fern and the others? And did I hear right that there were eggs incubating there? Were they destroyed?"

"Eggs?" Owen sat up sharply at that, and Claire had to quickly grab the back of the chair to keep from tumbling off. He frowned at her. "You didn't tell me there were eggs!"

"What did you _think_ Henry was doing?" Claire told him, resettling onto her perch as she rolled her eyes, before turning her attention over to Zia. "We're not sure yet, on the dinos. We believe they were probably sold. Hopefully, there'll end up being a paper trail we can follow. As for the eggs… Well, we've sent Dr. Holloway and Dr. Barnes up to the lab to check on them. It appears some are only a week or so from hatching." Dr. Barnes was one of the chief scientists, only a step below Henry in the chain of command.

"Do you know what species?" Barry asked. "Not raptors, I hope," he added, sounding worried.

"No, not raptors," Claire said. "Compys, actually."

"Ugh, more of _those_?" Owen said with disgust. "Why let them hatch?"

"Because they're almost viable," she replied patiently. "And, well, we could use a few more."

"Are they going to be brought here?" Zia asked, surprised. "I hadn't heard that."

"Well, that depends," Claire hedged. "Dr. Holloway said it wasn't good to move them, not yet. So for now, they're going to hatch at the Estate. And then he and Dr. Barnes will evaluate them and make sure that they're…" She trailed off, not really sure how to describe what she meant.

"Not monsters?" Owen supplied helpfully.

"That there hasn't been any… extra modifications," Claire countered.

"Ugh, who would want a hybrid Compy?" Owen shuddered, before a yawn interrupted him.

Claire looked down at him, her hand drifting up to run through his hair when he looked up at her. Now that she was focusing on him, she could see that he was fading fast. And that as much as she knew he'd want to be there, to keep talking with their friends, it was time to get him home.

Standing up, she held out her hand to him. "C'mon, time to go."

"What? No, I'm fine," he disagreed immediately, although his words morphed into a yawn.

"You're still healing, Owen, you need rest. You can come back for another visit," she reminded him.

"I _could_ rest here," he said, but he allowed her to pull him to his feet.

"No offense to Zia," Claire glanced over at her as she spoke before turning back to Owen, "But I'd feel better if you were staying in closer proximity to a doctor."

"None taken," Zia replied, smirking. "I don't want to be responsible for trying to keep him alive. I've got my hands full with the dinosaurs."

"See?" Claire told Owen, before adding, "Besides, you're the one who's been telling me constantly that there's nothing to do here. Don't you think our condo would be better?"

"Why do you have to be so reasonable?" Owen grumbled, but he followed her towards the door as Barry and Zia trailed after them.

"Enjoy the downtime while you've got it," Barry said.

"Wait," Owen stopped, looking over at Barry, and then back to Claire. "Now that Hoskins is out, what will happen to the raptors? To IBRIS?"

Claire could see the panic building as his mind supplied him with worst case scenarios. "That's to be determined," she tried to reassure him. "Parker and Masrani have been talking, figuring out the options. But–" She held up a hand, stopping Owen from interrupting her. "But, they also want to talk to you. _Both_ of you." She looked from Owen to Barry. "Don't worry about it, not now. First up, Owen, you need to get back on your feet. And then, well... Then you'll have plenty of time to argue your case. There's no rush. Not with all the other stuff happening." She could tell Owen was unconvinced. "You know I wouldn't let anything happen to them, you _know_ that."

"Yeah," Owen agreed after a long pause. He stifled another yawn, and Claire urged him to start walking again. "God, what a fucking disaster."

o-o-o

Owen had fallen asleep again on the helicopter, only waking after they had landed from Claire's gentle prodding. He vaguely remembered following her off the helicopter and through the building. He was pretty sure Zara had greeted them, but his mind had still been half asleep so he couldn't say for sure. In fact, he didn't really remember how they got from the helicopter to their condo.

"Home, sweet home," he said, as they crossed the threshold. He clumsily toed off his shoes, before beelining his way towards the couch.

"Whoa, no, no, no." Claire's hand latched onto his arm, keeping him standing before he could sink down. She gently pushed him past the couch, leading him towards their bedroom. "You're too heavy for me to move later. Bed."

He let her lead him into their bedroom, too tired to argue, and his mind feeling kind of loopy. As he was about to sit down on the bed, she stopped him again as she turned to face him, her hands reaching for the buttons on his shirt.

"I don't know if I have the energy," he told her, even as his own hand reached out to rest on her hip, tugging her to him, as he dipped down to kiss her. She kissed him back and he could feel a grin on her lips. When she pulled away, it was to push the shirt down his shoulders, carefully working his arm out of the sling long enough to get the shirt off, before helping him adjust it again.

"Another time," she told him, already moving to work on his belt. "But you'll sleep better if you're not in jeans."

"You're always trying to get me out of my pants," Owen joked.

"You know it," Claire replied, winking at him.

He knew she wasn't wrong about not wanting to sleep in jeans, and so he helped (as much as he was able) as she removed his pants and socks, before she backed him towards the bed and he sat down on the side.

"Join me?" he asked, looking up at her and patting the bed beside him.

"Owen…"

"You made me sleep without you for the last week."

"Because you were in a hospital bed, Owen! How can you keep brushing it aside like it wasn't serious? You were shot! You weren't the one standing in the basement, watching you bleed out, but unable to do anything to stop it. You weren't the one who no one wanted to give information to, because you're not related. You weren't–" Claire's words cut off as a sob overtook her, and Owen sat there frozen for a long second, before his brain finally kicked back into gear.

Getting off the bed, he quickly moved over to her, reaching out, but she shied away, turning her back to him, as her hands rose to cover her face, not that it did anything to muffle the sounds of her sobs.

"Claire," he said, reaching for her again, this time more insistently. He tugged her to him, wrapping his good arm around her, as she buried her face in his neck, her own arms snaking around him and holding on tightly. He could feel a pull in his shoulder, but he didn't care, this was more important. "I'm fine," he told her, running his hand up and down her back. "Really. I am."

"You're still on antibiotics and painkillers. They said you may need rehab," Claire replied, her voice muffled, and he had to stifle a laugh.

Of course she'd be focused on all those details, instead of the bigger picture. He couldn't help shaking his head. It was so _Claire_.

"I'm here, I'm alive, and that's what matters," he told her. "The rest… the rest we'll deal with as we need to."

"Yeah," she drew out the word, and he felt her relaxing into him, as he took on more of her weight. He really wanted to stay in that position — he'd missed being close to her most of all — but as much as he hated to admit it, he didn't have even close to his full strength. He found himself leaning equally into her, hoping between the two that they'd remain standing.

It was Claire who pulled away first. "Sorry, sorry," she said, stepping back, wiping at her eyes. "You're exhausted, we don't need to be doing this now. You need to sleep." She directed him back towards their bed.

"Just stay with me," he pleaded again as he climbed under the covers. "I'll sleep, promise. I just…"

He patted the spot next to him, holding up the covers, waiting. He could practically see the internal debate in her, before Claire finally climbed in. She lay down, but stayed about a foot away from him, and so he moved over to her, slipping his arm under her and tugging her to him. Sighing, she caved, squirming closer until she was resting her head on his good shoulder.

"That's better," he told her, as his eyes started to drift closed. He turned his head, burying his nose in her hair, breathing deep, his whole body relaxing. "Thank you."

He could feel her surprise at his words, as her body briefly tensed before relaxing more fully into him, her hand coming to rest over his heart. "For what?"

"Being you," he replied, his voice starting to slur as the exhaustion took hold. "For staying with me."

There was a long stretch of silence, and he had almost fully drifted off when he heard her reply, "Always."

* * *

_Whew. The End. Sort of. There's an epilogue coming next week. And I'll give an update about what else I'm working on then too. _

_Hope you've enjoyed the story and thanks so much for sticking with it (and me) through all of this. See you next week!_


	27. Epilogue

_Well... I guess this is it. Wrapping up the second epic in this series, that, similarly to the first, was NOT supposed to be this long. Oops. _

_I need to give a huge shout out to **Nadin** for all her help with editing and idea bouncing and everything. This story is what it is in large parts to her efforts._

* * *

**Epilogue**

"I'm going to miss this," Owen said as he swept his gaze over the trailer, dock, lake, and the hammock, before coming back to rest on Claire who was sitting opposite him at the picnic table.

"You don't _have_ to go, you know," she reminded him. "It's barely been two weeks, you could stay longer. Your shoulder–" She cut off as she looked away, her jaw clenching tightly.

He wanted to pry, to ask what she was thinking, to get her to say more. But, there was also a part of him that felt like at this point there was nothing new either of them could add to this conversation; a conversation they'd had almost daily since they'd returned to Nublar. And he understood why she didn't want him to leave. He _did_, but he also knew that he needed to get back to work.

Aside from the brief visit to Sorna that Claire had surprised him with, Owen had only managed one other visit over the past two weeks. It was a quick trip over, accompanied by Stephen Parker. That visit had been the kickoff to a series of conversations that were still ongoing about the future of IBRIS. Owen wasn't sure how things were going to end, but he was relieved that so far no one seemed to be leaning towards the idea of putting the raptors down. Of course, there was no agreement on what _should_ happen, so Owen wasn't convinced that the option was completely off the table, not yet.

But, it wasn't just the fact that everything was up in the air that was driving his need to return. The thing was, he missed his girls and his work. The first few days back on Nublar, he'd still been so worn out that he'd spent most of his time sleeping or lounging on the couch. But this week, ever since his second visit to Sorna, he'd been antsy to get back. He wasn't used to being idle. And with his shoulder still heavily bandaged, and his arm still in a sling, he hadn't been able to occupy himself with his usual escapes. He couldn't ride his motorcycle or even work on it, and fishing turned out to be more difficult than he'd expected. He was more than ready to start feeling useful again.

He was also starting to feel guilty.

"Barry's been dealing with everything for almost three weeks now," he reminded Claire. "He needs a break."

"I know, it's just, you're not… You really shouldn't be dealing with everything on your own, not with your shoulder, not yet," she said, her gaze locked on Owen's sling.

"And I won't be," he promised. "I've got Zia and the paddock techs around. Lots of people to help out. Maybe I'll even take a cue from you and start delegating a bit more." He grinned at her as he said that, knowing it would ruffle her feathers. Which it did.

"I'm getting better," Claire protested, rolling her eyes a little. "Zara's been really stepping up. I think I need to hire _her_ an assistant."

"I know." Owen reached across the table, grabbing her hand. "And I'm glad. It's a skill we've _both_ never been good at. And now it's my turn to put it into practice. But, to do that, I gotta go back."

Claire heaved a resigned sigh, before conceding. "I know." She flipped her hand over to squeeze his, before pulling back, picking up the last bite of her hamburger. "It's just been nice to have you around. I'll miss you."

"Things will be different this time," he said, not surprised when she immediately scoffed. "It _will_ be, I promise."

"Don't." Claire shook her head, her hand raising to point a finger at him. "Don't promise that."

"Why not?"

"I can't do that, not again, not now," she replied, unable to meet his gaze. "No more promises."

Owen watched her, not really sure how to respond to that.

He knew that things had been getting better between them ever since her trip to New York, as they had started talking more, and more honestly and openly. And these past three weeks, after everything that had happened at the Estate, getting to spend all this time with her, (even if the first half of it he'd been barely able to keep his eyes open for more than a couple of hours at a time) they'd continued to talk. But, watching as she stared resolutely at the tabletop in front of her, he was suddenly aware of all the moments when she would hesitate before agreeing or would give him multiple chances to back away from anything he'd said. How she'd never seemed to trust something was going to happen until it did, seemingly unable to simply believe him.

"You don't trust me." He didn't mean to voice the words, but they slipped out of his mouth before he knew to stop them, and Claire's gaze jumped back to his, her eyes wide, like a deer caught in the headlights.

"Of course, I trust you," she immediately claimed.

"Not when it comes to keeping my word," he said slowly, the realization still crystalizing. "I'm sorry."

"_You're_ sorry?" Claire asked, her brow furrowing.

"Trust is earned," Owen replied simply. "And I know I haven't done a great job at following through, especially when it comes to Sorna. That I've said things would be different before, and they never really were."

He watched as she thought over his remarks.

"It's not just your fault," she admitted after a long pause. "I haven't always been fully honest with you, either. About what I need and want. And we all have our own hangups. I just don't want to be a burden, another stressor in your life."

It was Owen's turn to be surprised.

"You're not."

She didn't look convinced.

"Really, Claire. You're not. You're the _best_ part of my life. But… if you don't want to do promises—" Owen saw that she was about to interrupt, but he pushed forward, not letting her. "—And I'm okay with that, I am. But in the meantime, I know that it's way past due that Barry and I finally work out a schedule. Something like… a week on Sorna, two days back here. I need to talk it through with Barry, of course, and I guess it could depend on what Parker wants to do, but I think Barry'd get on board. I know he'd like more time back here, too. And there'd be less guessing, if it was sorted out ahead of time. It would make it easier to make plans. _Real_ plans."

"If you want to," Claire agreed, but she still sounded iffy. He hated that her words were putting the burden on him, that she was refusing to push for what _she_ wanted.

"I do," he said, nodding firmly. "I want to be someone you can count on. And I want this to work, you and me."

"I want that, too," she agreed earnestly. "And I do trust you. Mostly. Except when it comes to making smart choices around your raptors." Her gaze drifted back down to his shoulder. "And I'd like it if you got injured a little less frequently. I'm not sure how much more your arm can take."

Her words were somewhat teasing, but they didn't bring a smile to her face or touch her eyes, as instead she let out a sigh, turning until she was looking out over the lake at the setting sun, her expression going pensive. Owen gave her a moment, not sure about the direction her thoughts had gone.

"What's up?" he asked after a minute when she still hadn't said anything.

There was another long pause before she admitted, "They figured out what's in the other eggs, the ones at the Estate." She continued to watch the sunset, refusing to look at him, and he immediately got concerned.

"Don't tell me Wu created more hybrids."

"No, not hybrids." Claire finally turned back to him, although she still wasn't looking quite at him, her gaze seeming to be focused somewhere over his left shoulder. "Raptors."

"_Raptors_? Like, Blue and Charlie and Echo _raptors_? Really?" The words tumbled out, Owen's jaw dropping. Claire just nodded. "How many?"

"Three. But they don't think one's going to survive."

"Are they… Are you… You're going to let them hatch?" Owen stumbled over the words, not really sure what he was trying to ask or how to phrase it.

"We're–"

He didn't let her finish as another question pushed its way out. "Where are they?" he interjected. Claire looked away, her teeth biting into her lower lip, and Owen felt lightheaded for a moment. "Sorna? They're on Sorna?"

"Lockwood didn't want them kept at the Estate. Not when we found out…"

"Wait, how long have you known?" The other question, the "_how long have you been keeping this from me,"_ he managed to bite back, although he knew she heard it anyway, considering how she stiffened.

"A week," she said with a slight wince and Owen had to admit he was somewhat impressed that she actually held his gaze when she said that.

"How come Barry hasn't said anything?" he asked, thinking back to the daily conversations he had with his friend.

"He doesn't know."

Well, that actually made some sense. He couldn't imagine Barry keeping it from him. But... what about Zia? Surely she had to know what was going on, being the only full-time vet on Sorna. Except, he'd talked with her earlier and she hadn't said anything, either. "And Zia?"

"She knows," Claire nodded. "But she also knows she can't talk about it."

"And _you_'ve got trust issues with _me_?" Owen shook his head in disbelief. He wasn't really sure what he was feeling, or thinking.

"It's not… I didn't… I'm not always at liberty to share the details of my job," Claire said. When he looked at her she shrugged helplessly, her expression apologetic.

He pressed his lips together for a moment. "So why tell me now?"

"You're going back there."

He narrowed his eyes, studying her. While she was still holding his gaze, he could tell she wasn't admitting everything. "And…?" he prompted.

"And they're supposed to hatch soon, probably this week," she finally confessed. At first he thought she was finished, but then she took a deep breath before stating: "Stephen brought up imprinting."

"No." He didn't even have to think about it. Not again. Not after Fern, Pepper, Sky and Snow. Not after Blue's kidnapping. _No way._ Except… he focused back on Claire, now curious. "Wait, why are you even suggesting that? You didn't even want the last batch to happen."

"It's not my idea."

"But you're telling me," he pushed. "Why even bring it up?"

"You were going to find out."

"About their existence, yeah, but by then it'd be too late for imprinting. To know about that, to _do_ that, I have to know in advance."

He continued to study her, trying to understand what her motivation was. He knew she didn't really want him to go back to Sorna. That she'd prefer if he was able to stay on Nublar. But he also knew that she would never do anything, or say anything, that would interfere with his relationship with his raptors. That she understood their importance to him, and that she understood (even if she didn't fully agree) his need to get back to Sorna.

"I didn't want you to hear about it from someone else," she finally said. "I thought it'd be better coming from me."

"What's their plan for these new raptors? The same thing as with…?" He didn't finish the question, but he didn't need to. He knew that Claire was thinking about them, too.

"I don't know," she said. "They were too close to being viable, so no one felt comfortable with putting them down. It's not like they're Indoraptors–"

"Are you sure?" Owen interrupted, surprised his brain hadn't made that leap earlier. "I mean, what if this is just another modified version, and it just _looks_ more raptor-like than the Indoraptors did?"

"We're sure," Claire confirmed. "I don't really get all the tests they did, but they've reassured me that these are pure raptors. Well, as pure as Blue, Echo and Charlie are."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

His thoughts started drifting as he tried to make sense of this new data, and the possible consequences and outcomes, and wondering why _Parker_ hadn't brought this up in any of the IBRIS discussions. He was broken out of his musings a while later by Claire's hand sliding across his shoulder until it came to a rest on the back of his neck, lighting kneading the muscles there. He looked up at her, unsure when she'd gotten up and circled the table.

"You don't have to make any decisions tonight," Claire told him. "And I'm not sure everyone's even convinced imprinting is a good idea. Come here." She reached down for his hand, and he let her tug him up, leading him across the lot to the hammock.

"It _is_ a good idea," Owen admitted, after the two were settled and swaying gently. "Imprinting, I mean. On someone, _anyone_, really. Better they have some sort of attachment, than none at all."

He felt her nod, her head tucked under his chin. "Doesn't have to be you."

"It doesn't," he agreed. "Three eggs. That's such an odd number. Why only three? Especially considering how unlikely it is that all would hatch?"

"They've been going through notes and trying to talk to some of the workers. Seems like there were a bunch more originally, but they had some issues with the incubators. Previous power outages and stuff like that, kind of like the night you were there. The four are all that's left." Claire let out a sigh, shifting a bit and cuddling into his side. He used the arm he had wrapped around her to hold her closer. "Sorry, this isn't the best conversation for your last night here."

"It's fine," he assured her immediately.

And it was. They were both workaholics in their own right, and it was always going to be inevitable that work would creep into their conversations in one form or the other. And even more so if it ended up being something that affected them both.

For a while, they lay there in silence as they listened to the sounds of the waves lapping at the dock and the leaves rustling and the occasional bird songs. It was nice, peaceful, the type of moment that always left Owen hoping it would never end.

"What were they going to do with all the compys and raptors? Surely they weren't going to keep them at the Estate." Owen hadn't realized he'd voiced his thoughts aloud until he felt Claire startle at his side.

"Sell them, I guess," she said. "That seems to be what they did with Sky and the others."

"Bet those buyers are pissed now."

"Probably. But they deserve it for working with Eli."

Owen nodded his agreement. He definitely didn't feel any sympathy for the buyers. He didn't have any illusions that they would have the dinosaurs' best interest in mind. While he didn't always agree with all the choices made at Jurassic World, he did know that there were numerous people working there — Claire included — who really did care about the dinosaurs and their well-being.

"Do you think I should?" he asked, his mind circling back.

"Do what?"

"Let the raptors imprint on me."

"I–" Claire started, before shifting again, pushing up a bit so she could meet his gaze. "I don't know," she admitted. "I'm not thrilled with the idea of you with more baby raptors. But…" She shrugged. "Blue, Charlie and Echo are better off for having you."

"It'd have to be different," he mused, thinking aloud. "If I did it. I don't want them to take over my life, not again. I was looking forward to getting back here more frequently. I don't want to change those plans."

"Like I said, you don't have to decide tonight," she reminded him.

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed. He tugged her closer to him, dropping a kiss into her hair before his gaze drifted back to the stars above. "I really am going to miss it here."

"It's not going anywhere," Claire said. "It'll still be here when you can make it back."

"Not the same," he said, before tightening his grip on her before she could respond. "But, it _is_ another reason to come back more."

"I'm not reason enough?"

Her tone was teasing, but Owen still caught the slight edge of uncertainty in it, and he looked down at her. "The only reason I need," he said, his voice growing serious.

At his words, she surged upwards to kiss him, the moment quickly growing heated. Until Owen tried to wrap his arms around her, forgetting momentarily about his shoulder. He pulled away, groaning, pulling his injured arm in to tuck it tightly against his chest.

"If you actually _want_ to go back to Sorna tomorrow we really shouldn't injure you further," Claire said, laughter coating her tone, although she countered it by raising her hand to brush the hair off his forehand, before rubbing gently at the pain lines that were now creasing his forehead.

"Good point," he conceded, settling back down.

He knew he was ready to go back to work, but Owen couldn't deny that he'd miss these moments. He didn't know what new challenges life was going to throw at them but he knew that they could get through them. That they _would_ get through them, together. They worked with dinosaurs, it was inevitable that their lives would always be adventurous.

And, speaking of adventure, he may be injured, but that didn't mean he couldn't be creative. Owen sat up abruptly, causing the hammock to rock wildy and Claire to gasp and clutch at him in surprise. He grinned down at her. "I think I've had enough of the outdoors."

* * *

_Thank you for reading! And sticking with this story all the way to the end. _

_Thank you so much to every single person who had subscribed, favourited and most of all, left me a review over the past 6 or so months. All of that makes the posting experience so much better and keeps me motivated to keep writing.**  
**_

_I promised last chapter and update on what's next for me._  
_1\. I've got a short (only 5 chapters) fic called **Something Just Like This** that I'll start posting next Thursday (follow to me to get an email)._  
_2\. I've got 2 Snapshots in the works (posting will be based on when I get them done)._  
_3\. Elise and I are back writing MY ( ) and so I'm optimistically hopeful that in July we'll start posting Act III._  
_4\. I've got an idea for a short (like maybe 5ish chapters?) final story for this series. If I can sort it out, I'll (hopefully) be ready to start posting it after SJLT._  
_5\. ? I'm hoping inspiration will strike with some other ideas. (Got one — write me a comment, let me know!)_

_If you've made it this far, I'd love if you would take a few seconds to let me know what you liked/didn't like about this story. I'm always looking to become a better writer._


	28. Teaser

_The first chapter for the sequel to PUP has just been posted. It's called __**Three Steps Forward, One Step Sideways**. It takes place 3-4 months after PUP ends and is mostly action/adventure. It's also much shorter - looks like it'll be about 9 chapters total (I'm writing #6 right now). If you enjoyed PUP, you'll probably enjoy the end of the trilogy, that was meant to be a single story. :P _

_Below is the _first_ scene of the sequel (**not** the entire first chapter). _

**Preview of Part of Chapter 1**

"Hold," Owen called down to the raptors, one hand raised in a fist while his other was clutching the clicker. He watched as the three raptors stayed in place, their gazes holding steady on him, even as they twitched slightly. He counted to three, before lowering his arm. "And, go." Pressing the clicker, he watched the three raptors hurry off, disappearing into the jungle cover of their paddock.

Owen unhooked the now-empty treat bucket from the railing and started walking back along the catwalk. He could see Stephen Parker waiting for him, but the man had remained quiet throughout Owen's entire demonstration, which was a far change from how Hoskins used to act. Owen wasn't quite sure what he thought about it. He didn't miss Hoskins — far from it — but he was still adjusting to this new normal, and still found himself expecting to see Hoskins waltzing through his office door, or swaggering across the field towards him.

Claire had told him, repeatedly, that Hoskins would _never_ be setting foot back on Nublar or Sorna. And he believed her. Yet, it still seemed almost too easy, how they'd finally managed to get rid of him. Although, he knew that _that_ thought was stupid. Owen still firmly believed that Hoskins should've been dismissed back when the Indoraptors had been running around.

However, even ignoring that, there had been nothing easy about Owen's recovery after the escapades at the Lockwood Estate. And now, just over three months later, he continued to deal with stiffness and a decreased range of motion in his shoulder. But, he was diligently doing the exercises his physio had prescribed (Claire never let him forget about them, and she'd somehow managed to rope both Barry _and_ Zia into being her Sorna spies if he skipped out). He knew the exercises were helping. His physical therapist was optimistic that he'd regain his full range of motion in a few more months.

As Owen reached the end of the bridge, Parker fell into step beside him as they headed for the stairs.

"They're looking really good," Parker commented, and Owen just nodded. "Any more issues between Blue and Echo?"

The first couple of months after Blue had returned to Sorna, she and Echo had continued to get into occasional skirmishes. Echo had become used to being the "alpha" in Blue's absence and she wasn't all that excited about giving up the role. Blue, however, was not about to relinquish it without a fight. While there had been the odd occasion where Owen and Barry had been concerned the raptors were going to end up seriously injuring each other, for the most part, the fights had been small, and the animals had been easily distracted.

"Not for a few weeks now," Owen told Parker. "They seem to finally be settling back down. I think it helps that we play around with the order during some of the drills. It gives Echo — and even Charlie — a chance to somewhat lead. It's not the same as being the beta, but…" Owen shrugged.

He and Barry had debated for a long time on how to deal with Echo and Blue's fighting. It had always been clear to them that Blue would win, but they were concerned about Echo getting hurt, or the pack fracturing and Echo becoming an outcast. Thankfully, time, and some drill changes, seemed to be working well enough as a solution. That, and Owen sort of thought that after everything the raptors had been through, that none of them really wanted to lose a pack member again.

"That's good to hear," Parker nodded, as they stepped back down onto the ground. "What about the others?"

Before answering, Owen spotted a paddock tech and waved him over. He handed off the empty bucket he'd been carrying, before turning back to Parker.

The "others" was the generic name that often was used to refer to the two baby raptors whose eggs had been rescued from the Lockwood Estate, as Blue, Charlie and Echo still got referred to as _his girls_ or _the pack_. The name bugged Owen a bit, but he tried not to get defensive, usually just making a point to call the two raptors by their names, instead. He didn't see how it was any more work to do that versus call them "the others. "

"Olive and Grape are doing well," Owen said, before glancing quickly at his watch. "It's a bit early for their afternoon training session, but we could still go and say hi."

He started across the field with Parker towards the nursery. Olive and Grape were almost three months old now, and so they continued to spend most of their time indoors. It would probably be another month before they moved them to an outdoor paddock. That was not to say that the raptors hadn't been outside yet, Owen had taken them out for various drills. They had a small area set up that he could put them in, but it wasn't secure enough for them to stay out there all night. And they were still young, still learning to regulate their body temperatures. It was easier, and safer, to keep them indoors for now.

When Owen had first arrived back on Sorna after spending the couple of weeks recuperating on Nublar, he still hadn't decided if he was going to take on the new raptors. To be fair, Claire had only dropped the news on him the night before he'd returned. But, on his second day back (his first had been spent out with his girls), he'd found himself walking into the lab building and approaching the three eggs. He'd felt a bit silly over it all, considering there was nothing that he could do except look at them. But, seeing them in front of him had made it all that much more real.

Owen had spent much of the next few days talking with Barry, Zia, Parker and Claire about the whole thing, trying to figure out what he wanted to do. Parker had been the one to tell him that they — Jurassic World and InGen — were thinking, _hoping_, to be able to have the raptors eventually end up as an attraction on Nublar. Owen had been pretty stunned when he'd heard that, and he still hadn't gotten over it by the time he'd talked with Claire later that day. A conversation that still made him wince when he recalled it now. He hadn't been all that… civil, and had had to profusely apologize to Claire the following day for some of his comments.

He had been — and still was, really — surprised that _anyone_ was considering having _any_ raptors become an attraction, especially since Jurassic World had been extremely against the idea for years. But, then he'd learned more about the raptors. And what he'd learned was what had actually made him agree to take on training them, even if it was information that still made his blood boil to this day. The raptors were more than _just_ like Blue. They had been created using some of Blue's DNA. They weren't clones, but they weren't exactly offspring, either. More a hybrid mix of the regular raptor DNA that Eli and Wu had stolen from the park, combined with some of Blue's, along with a few other tweaks that Wu had thrown in (but that Owen still didn't quite understand the significance of).

The discovery of Blue's DNA had come from the extensive notes that Dr. Wu had left behind; notes that it had taken a while for the Jurassic World legal team to get access to. Because of the mixture that had been used, no one was quite sure what the results would be. If Olive and Grape were going to end up with similar traits to Blue, such as being more empathetic, or if the use of Blue's DNA would end up being unnoticeable. Owen knew that everyone was hoping that they'd have Blue's empathy, as it would mean they'd more likely be a successful attraction.

While he still wasn't all that excited about the idea of Olive and Grape ending up as an attraction period — and, most of the time, he tried his best to not even think about it — he did like knowing that with that option on the table it meant that no one was currently thinking about or pushing the same idea for his girls. In a way, it felt sort of like he was sacrificing Olive and Grape, for Blue, Echo and Charlie.

So far, the baby raptors had just seemed just like regular baby raptors to him. Then again, Blue's empathy hadn't really been distinguishable until she was closer to six months, so there was still time for that to show up. Owen was also finding it a bit more difficult to work with just two of them. Two didn't feel like a pack, and the dynamic between them was different than it had been for his girls when they were that little, or even Sky, Pepper, Fern and Snow. Owen kept telling himself that that was good — that it would be better, easier, if he was able to keep all the raptors separate, and see them all as their own beings.

"How are Olive and Grape doing?" Parker asked, interrupting Owen's musings. "I mean, I've seen the reports, but I'll admit that I mostly just skim them over. The details don't mean a whole lot to me." Parker laughed as he said that, and Owen forced out a chuckle, while mentally rolling his eyes. _This_ was one of the big reasons he hated all the paperwork he did. It never felt like those who demanded it actually ever took the time to read or understand it.

"They're doing well," Owen said. "Thriving, which is good. They're still really little, and so most of the activities we do with them are focused around helping them develop their gross motor skills. Things like climbing, going up and down little ramps, and walking over uneven ground. It all sounds pretty basic, I know, but it's important for their development. The better their coordination, the more we'll be able to work with them going forward."

As they approached the nursery, Owen held open the door and then followed Parker inside. At the moment, there were only two sets of baby animals in the nursery, the compys and the raptors. Both were sets that had been rescued from the Lockwood Estate. Owen led Parker down the short hallway, past the door where he could hear the compys squawking from behind to another door at the end of the hall that led to the raptor pen.

Opening it, he and Parker entered a small area that was separated from the raptors by a chain link fence that had a door in the middle. Olive and Grape started chittering the moment they saw them, the two raptors approaching the fence, clutching at it with their claws. After Owen made sure that the door to the room was shut firmly behind him, he moved towards the raptors, crouching down across from them, the fence separating them.

"Hey girls," he greeted them. "How are you doing today? Both of you behaving?" He reached out and gently tapped them both on their snouts, which were pressed up against the fence. Grape tried to lunge for his finger, but Owen was faster, pulling his hand back.

"Which one is which?" Parker asked, reminding Owen that he wasn't alone.

He stood back up, looking down at the two raptors who abandoned the fence to go attack one of the many rubber balls that were spread throughout their cage when they realized they'd lost his attention. The balls that were currently almost as big as the raptors. In fact, only a month ago the balls _had_ been bigger. Another reminder that they were growing up fast.

"The grey-ish one with the purple-ish stripe is Grape," Owen told Parker, pointing as he spoke. "And the green one is Olive." He wasn't really sure _why_ Parker had even asked the question, considering their names plus colourings should've been indication enough. But, since he still wasn't quite sure why Parker had even come out to Sorna, he didn't press.

"That makes sense," Parker replied. "Are you enjoying working with them?"

"I am," Owen admitted, hesitating only briefly.

It was the truth, though. Even though he still felt uneasy over some aspects of it all, it was hard to remain upset with how playful the two raptors were. And it was nice to work with ones who still seemed excited to see him, and happy to attempt whatever drills he had in store for them, even if they didn't always seem to grasp what he was asking them to do. He loved his girls, but they could be moody and difficult to work with when they chose to be (which was still more often than he liked), so the change of pace could feel refreshing.

"You must be pretty busy now, with both sets of raptors," Parker continued, and Owen looked over at him, confusion furrowing his brow. Well, yeah, of course Owen was busy, but, that shouldn't be a surprise.

"It's a lot to juggle," he acknowledged, carefully. "But, Barry and I've got a system worked out. And since we're not training these two the same way as we did the others, that's helped."

That was actually another part of what had convinced him to finally agree. Yes, he was interested in what (if any) traits from Blue the raptors would show, but he'd also been adamant that he wasn't going to go back on his promise to figure out a way to get back to Nublar more regularly (even if he had agreed to never use the word promise around Claire). Knowing that the raptors were going to (likely) end up as an attraction, had meant that they didn't need the same stringent training schedule that Blue and the others had gone through. They could be more relaxed with these two, focusing more on play and helping them develop strong social skills and a good relationship with humans, and focus less on developing their problem solving abilities.

And _that_ meant that he and Barry had been able to sort out a schedule. In the end, they had decided to go with a 10 days on, 4 days off plan. Although it was more like two full days off, and two half days, as whoever was leaving would usually end up doing some work the morning before they caught the boat back to Nublar, and then in the afternoon on the day they returned. They had also staggered their schedules so that they always had a few full days together before the other left.

"You've been able to spend more time back on Nublar recently, as I understand it," Parker commented, continuing to stare through the fence at Olive and Grape.

Owen looked at Parker in surprise at the words. The arrangement that he and Barry had come up with had had to be approved by Parker. The fact that Owen was spending that time on Nublar shouldn't be a surprise.

"Do you enjoy that?" Parker asked, finally turning to look at Owen.

"Uh, yes?" Owen winced when his answer came out hesitantly, quickly following up. "It's been nice to get back there more regularly." He managed to cut himself off before he made a comment about Claire. He knew that Claire would _not_ want him to be mentioning their relationship (even if it was more than common knowledge amongst all the staff).

"Hm," Parker nodded. "Would you be interested in spending more time back on Nublar?"

The question made Owen pause. He felt like he could suddenly see warning lights flashing all over the place. He wished he knew where this conversation was going, because he felt like whatever he said next may land him somewhere he didn't want to be.

Thankfully, Parker didn't seem to actually care about getting an answer, as he continued to talk.

"With Hoskins gone, we've been trying to figure out a replacement for him. But, even more so, we've been re-thinking his position. Not only have we lost him, but the actual activity on Sorna has been picking up. You've got the two sets of raptors now. The lab has more eggs incubating. There's been talk about working on new species development again, not just more of the same…" Parker trailed off.

Owen wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say in response. He'd had two sets of raptors before, so he didn't think that that was all that new. And Claire had already mentioned the new species development to him, so he'd known about it, even if it hadn't actually been given a greenlight yet. As for Hoskins's position, well, Owen didn't really know everything that Hoskins had done, but he wasn't all that interested in taking on that job, from the bits he did know. Owen preferred to work directly with the raptors, not just observing from afar.

"I… I'm not really sure what you're asking here," he said, watching Parker closely.

"We've been thinking about creating a new position," Parker stated. "Someone who would take on overseeing everything happening here on Sorna. Both the lab side and the research side. Right now, the information we get out of here, and the supervision that happens, is often disjointed. What you and Barry work on is completely separate from what the lab guys are working on."

Owen nodded, although he didn't really see anything wrong with that. There really wasn't any connection between the two.

"The work you've done with the raptors, the work that any of our trainers do with the animals, is incredibly beneficial. And as the lab continues to produce more, both of the species we already have, but also new species, we want to bring in behaviourists earlier. Not to the level of what you two are doing with the raptors, but to bridge the gap of understanding. To make it more circular, so that there isn't the same disconnect with the lab once the animals hatch. That they have and use more of this knowledge as they continue their work."

Okay, well that Owen could actually sort of get behind. He did always find it frustrating that Wu never seemed to care about the dinosaurs once they'd hatched. To Owen, he had always felt that yes, creating viable embryos was important, but that the final result, the living, breathing animal, mattered just as much, if not more. Because just because you could bring something to life, didn't mean it _should_ be brought to life. And the Indominus and the Indoraptors were perfect examples of that.

"Anyway, the position hasn't been completely sorted out yet," Parker said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Owen hadn't actually said anything in a while. "We're still figuring out exactly how it would work. But while it would be based here on Sorna, it would require frequent travel to Nublar, as there's coordination that needs to occur between here and the lab there. I wanted to bring it up, though, because your name has come up a few times now in discussion. There's been more than one person who thinks you'd be perfect for this role, what with the work you've done with the raptors, and the connections you have back on Nublar."

Owen had to hide his scoff with a cough. Of _course_ his "connection" to Claire would be considered an asset here. Even if, to Owen, it felt like it would probably actually be more a liability. Like the two of them needed more things to potentially argue over.

"It's not a done deal. But I wanted you to start thinking it over," Parker said. Owen felt like a deer in the headlights, not sure how to answer, but thankfully Parker continued. "You don't have to answer today, of course. And it's not just up to me, either. But, I hope you'll think about it. I think you'd be good at it."


End file.
